A pit bull killed its A 41-year old owner in a Bronx apartment building on Simpson Street.
Pit Bull Kills Owner
Bronx, NY - A 41-year old man is dead after being viciously attacked by his own pit bull. NYPD officers responded to a building in the 1200 block of Simpson Street in the Longwood neighborhood just after 3:00 am Friday morning. Upon arrival, they found the pit bull clamped onto the man's throat. Officers open fired on the dog multiple times, killing it. The man was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead. FNTV captured footage of NYPD police and detectives at the scene.
News 12 spoke to Debra Graham, who witnessed part of the attack. Graham warned the victim to get rid of the dog hours before the attack. "I said if you don't get rid of that dog, that dog's going to hurt you," she said. The victim had owned the dog for about 8 months. He kept it locked in a cage because it was vicious. "I don't know how the dog got out of the cage," she said, "but he did." Graham called 911. "One officer shot one shot, and one officer shot two shots, and the dog went down," Graham said.
An unidentified neighbor feared the male pit bull, "Max," even though the dog appeared calm. “I told him that dog was no good. It’s a pit bull, they go berserk,” he told the NY Post. The neighbor was concerned that he could been the one killed. "It could have been me. With any dog, they could turn any minute.” He said he hung out with the victim last night. "I was just with him last night," he said. "Everything was cool. He was cooking. Salmon cakes. It sucks. Here one day, next day you’re gone."
The victim has since been identified as 41-year old Kaeem Robinson.
The affordable housing building where the attack occurred entered the housing lottery just one year ago. It's unclear why a vicious pit bull locked in a cage, barking excessively, was allowable in the building. WABC reports that dogs must be registered with management. Robin's relatives were happy that he had finally found a home after years of struggles. Robinson previously lived in a shelter. What remains unknown is where Robinson obtained the dog, and if the dog came from a public shelter.
Robinson's sister, Kayesha Barnett, said she only recently found out about the dog. "We just found out about the dog ourselves, so we aren't too sure, we're trying to find out who he got the dog from, but that's all we actually know," Barnett said. Building resident Gilbert Durecou, who also called 911, told the NY Daily News he heard the vicious attack. "You could hear the biting," he said. "That dog was really tearing him up." Durecou said the cops had to "break the door down" to reach the victim.
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Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.