Jeriline McGinnis, 73-years old, died late Monday after being attacked by her own pit bull.
Multi-Victim Attack
Boston, MA - A woman is dead after being mauled by a family pit bull. The dog also attacked her husband and two police officers. First responders were dispatched to a multi-family home on Dennison Street around 4:50 pm Monday after reports that an aggressive dog attacked its owners -- a man and woman -- inside the home. The dog then attacked two officers who arrived at the scene. Officers fired on the vicious dog, injuring it. The woman, Jeriline Brady McGinnis, 73-years old, died late Monday.
"Obviously the dog, given what he did to the two victims, the owners of the dogs, the officers made the decision to discharge and put the dog down," Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Paul McLaughlin said. After the multi-victim attack, animal control removed three other dogs -- all pit bulls -- from the home. McGinnis had owned pit bulls for over 10 years, according to her multiple Facebook pages. In August, she posted a video of her three pit bulls playing in the snow in her front yard.
Surveillance video obtained by news stations captured the dog confronting the officers. One neighbor, who was not identified, said he heard three shots fired. "I heard two shots, and I saw that the dog was down. About a minute or so later, less than that, I heard a third shot," he said. A source told WBZ-TV the dog latched onto McGinnis' arm, nearly taking it off. When her husband jumped into save her, he also attacked. Last night at the scene, police said the husband sustained "very serious injuries."
The multi-family home is owned by civil rights leader Jean McGuire. She was walking her own dog in a nearby park when a pit bull named "Deuce" attacked McGinnis and her husband in their first-floor unit. "She’s a wonderful person. A very generous, a very loving person. Loved animals," McGuire said of McGuire. "I’ve lost my sister. She’s a sister." McGuire also said the couple "put them in cages" to keep the dogs from fighting, indicating the other three pit bulls may have been kenneled during the attack.
Had Dogs for 6 Years
NBC Boston reports that McGinnis was living in the home with four pit bulls that her son allegedly brought home about six years ago. McGinnis had owned a similar pit bull, "Buddha," since 2014. McGuire, who lives upstairs, had concerns about the dogs. "They had too many dogs," she said, shaking her head. Neighbors said the dogs "bark all night" and did not seem socialized. McGinnis' husband remains in the ICU at an area hospital. The city euthanized Deuce,1 the attacking dog.
An updated report identified her husband as Leon McGinnis. McGuire said that she has been renting to the couple for decades, who live downstairs with one of their three sons. In a telephone interview with the Boston Globe, McGuire said she doesn't know what unfolded. "I don’t know what happened, and until I find out from Leon, I won’t know," she said. McGuire also described the couple of having "a pit bull family." She added that the McGinnis’s would breed the dogs and sell the pit bull puppies.
McGinnis often posted her dogs to Facebook groups like Staffordshire Bull Terrier Lovers and Tiggers Outlaw Bullies. The dog in the right panel column could be "Deuce."
The multi-family home on Dennison St. where a pit bull killed its owner, Jeriline McGinnis
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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.
These dogs are a drain on society.
Very sad as usual. Harboring pitbulls is dangerous, but look at all the information coming out of shelters calling them great dogs. Shelters would not adopt out killer dogs, but how does one separate the nice pitbulls from the killers before the kill?
When family members bring pitbulls home, those already there should do whatever it takes to have the pitbulls removed.
Two words: Shelters lie.
That’s all you need to knwo.
Correcting the spelling: know.
gee pit bulls ……………again
If you have pets like pitbulls, after ten years suddenly your doggies will be able to turn into horrible monsters who want to kill all of you even they can see you as food
It is too primitive to die in a dog attack in the civil age
So, 4 pits that they crated to keep from fighting. It was only a matter of time before this happened. And, again, I’m glad it was the owner and not an innocent neighbor that bore the brunt of their horrible choices.
The Facebook photos and videos always show 3 dogs, not 4, as recently as a November photo. Maybe one of these dogs could not be around the other 3? Or, crate-and-rotate. 3 dogs in and one dog out at different times.
Well, they had a wild pack of dogs. Anyone, who has over 2 dogs has a pack of dogs. We had a Westie, a Bassett mixed with terrier, and a border collie mix. They behaved differently than having just 2 dogs, and they weren’t aggressive dogs to begin with. Having 4 big dogs, and being a slightly built older woman , doesn’t make sense. All through our marriage, almost 37 years, we had pairs of dogs, except for the short time when we had 3, because the Westie was elderly. Now for the last 15-16 years, we have downsized our dogs too, since we are much older. We have had all small adult or young dogs that we picked up at the humane society or shelters. Two, of them were gifted from bad home situations and people moving. Now , we have small Chi mixes. That is the kind of dog that woman needed to have. She was a beautiful woman who was very kind, according to her landlord.
When dogs are in a pack, they need expert handling and control by an Alpha human leader. Any breed, any dogs act differently in a pack.
Or, a child. Too many children are the victims of pitts. They have no say and no chance surviving an attack.
If the shelters are full of pits, they need to euthanize the pits to make room for safe, adoptable dogs.
I have fostered many sweet dogs, all under 15 lbs and no pits. We adopted a Pomeranian in 2011 and this year we adopted a cavapoo.
There are so many great puppies and dogs, that are not pits, who need homes.
I’d love to know why the pitbull decided to kill anyone. Did the pitbulls fight through the sides of the cages? If there is a reason, then that could be avoided. Normal dogs simply don’t kill people.
Unknown what the set up was. But when you say, “fight through the sides of the cages,” sure. According to the “pit bull handbook” each dog should be kenneled in a different room during crate-and-rotate so they cannot see each other!
The first thing to know is that pitbulls are not “normal” dogs. Colleen did a CHILLING report a while ago with an expert animal behaviorist observing pit bulls. At one point, she said something like, this is not even a dog. Normal dogs do not attack without provocation or routinely kill infants/children, and those who feed and nurture them from puppyhood. In one of Jeriline’s videos, she has what looks like a sweet scene of her enjoying her beloved pits playing in the snow. At first glance, one would think these are just big, lovable lugs. Right? This woman cooked special meals for these dogs everyday. She clearly loved and nurtured them. Then, one day they tore her to shreds, attacked her husband and two officers. There is no “reason” and no way to avoid this carnage except to never ever own a pit bull. These dogs are cunning, baffling and extremely deceptive. One minute they’re cuddling, playing in the snow, eating home cooked meals…and then SNAP!
Pit bulls do!! They are never “Normal” and eventually snap. I too am glad it was the owner and not an innocent person like so often happens.
This is what pitiots don’t understand. If you keep playing with fire, you will eventually get burned.
I had this same thought. Pit bull ownership seems to be the ultimate in FAFO.
While we can’t convince pitbull lovers, they are being destroyed by their own pit bulls.
And many innocent people get killed because of the ignorance of Pit Bull owners. The breed needs to be ban in the US.
Notice how it goes from “They rescued pits” to “Well, actually they bred pits and sold the puppies”.
I will not be at all surprised if it comes out they had connections to dog fighting.
I don’t see how you can say a pit breeder “loved animals”.
Considering how many pits are put down, many times because they killed other animals and or people, I think you loose your “animal lover” cred when it comes out you bred pits and sold the puppies.
It sounds much more likely that they loved untaxed income and selling pits was an easy way to get it.
Generally insensitive to their dogs’ impact on the neighbors (and neighborhood,) the bill came due.
In other words–despite all the noise complaints (and probably the smell and the fear too)–they were a decade’s long scourge to all who lived near, with their 4-5 pitbulls and rotations of puppy litters.
Plus, the strangers coming in to buy puppies, not likely to be the best sort either.
And Roxbury is not a place with big backyards and great spaces between neighbors. These people’s dogs were an urban blight.
Had they paid attention to the nuisance they were creating for others, they might have saved their own lives, simply by being more thoughtful to others.
–My working theory is that pitbull ownership is fundamentally antisocial. This is a good example.
Far worse than walking around with a loaded cocked gun is pitbull ownership. You have to hate other people at least a little to present that threat to your social sphere instead of a friendly Golden or Poodle. Unpredictable, deadly behavior, and uncontrollable–pitbulls have the pulling strength of a Honda sedan! (Your control over this animal is an illusion.)
Shame on those owner/breeders. The neighbors are probably secretly relieved, hoping this murder ends the pitbull breeding reign of terror. Now, think of the generations out there carrying that killer dog’s genes!
Glad the victim wasn’t someone else’s child, mother, father, or friend. If pitbulls only ended their owners, that could be a slow but costly solution to the problem.
Stupid to create such problems in the first place. Shame shame shame. The victim’s photo reminds me of very nice people I have known. I wonder what path led her to this horror. She owned the dog that killed her! Nightmare!
It seems to me the sociopathic nature of pit bull ownership is split into two groups:
The owners who genuinely believe the pit bull is misunderstood and maligned. Their blinkered form of sociopathy doesn’t allow them to take into account the documented danger of this breed.
The owners who actively embrace the breed’s danger and think that’s just too bad for everybody else.
I concur. Pit bull ownership seems to be an anti-social statement. Their way of thumbing nose at society.
Agreed. I must add that I’m lucky enough to live in a small, semi-rural neighborhood with big lawns and plenty of space between homes. A pit bull would still be a disaster for our security—to say nothing of the wildlife.
My blood boils for people trapped beside pit-loving neighbors in settings where they have even less space and even less freedom to move. How many times have we read about a little child torn to shreds after months of his parents begging pit owners to control their dogs? Dogs that dug under chains to grab a child? Dogs that were dumped on a reservation as if its human inhabitants were not even afterthoughts?
Another sad ending for pitbull owners. I appreciate your sentiments Meredith Goodrich. I am usually one of the first to say glad it was the owner and not some previous little child. And while I still believe that my compassion for owners is not what it should be. I need to check that.
Not only do shelters hide the dangers of these mutants but often we see news media, police and governmental agencies reluctant to disclose information when attacks occur and in turn keeps the public from critical information they need to have when deciding on a pet. Education is sorely lacking and this the reason I so strongly support Colleen and the fantastic service this organization provides. Glad to see this attack going national.
Then too I feel the landlord has some responsibility. She knew how many dogs were in that family and I would assume had complaints but appears she did nothing. Now she states there were too many dogs. Too bad and sad she did not act on her feelings before. While we may never know what led up to the attack overcrowding certainly could have been a factor.
You, quite likely are a better, more compassionate person than I am.
ALL of my compassion dissolved once I heard she sold pits.
Sort of like I can feel sorry for users of illicit substances who suffer for their choices but have no pity for a pusher who inevitably meets a bad end.
This woman profited off of spreading misery.
First to her neighbors who had to endure the sights, sounds and stench of an illegal back yard breeding operation.
Then to her customers who were betting their and their communities lives on pit roulette whether they knew it or not.
As it usually does, some of the misery she was profiting off of came back to her and it came back in spades.
I wont celebrate but I wont cry either.
I wonder is her late husband will keep the “sleeper cell” going?
I doubt AC would object to him keeping his other dogs, even if they are related to the killer.
Every dog is an individual and entitled to due process after all.
FWIW I think “sleeper cell” is the best term to describe backyard breeders and “dog fosters” that take in pits.
At least back yard breeders realize they are doing it for the money.
Fosters are unpaid workers for the pit bull industrial complex and they don’t even realize it.
They both blend in to the community (with differing degrees of success) until the day one of their poorly assembled canine IEDs detonates.
I’m with you that this isn’t just a pitbull ownership problem, Lowell.
It’s an across-the-board problem and it runs deeper than pitbulls. They’re just the obvious surface problem.
We have neutered and spayed every cheap dog around. Used to be, people got a puppy when their neighbour’s dam who everyone knew as friendly, got pregnant by a local male who was also friendly. Everyone knew the drill. Yes, there were unwanted dogs. There were mean dogs. Mean dogs were euthanized. They had little opportunity to breed.
Now the cheap dogs are pitbulls. Shelters practically give them away while they suck in literally *billions* to keep them alive. Everyone profits. Except regular people.
The pibble brigade spends millions, if not billions, convincing everyone that these dogs, bred for aggression, are just wiggle butts and goofy. They’re not. They’re serious energetic, easily-triggered dogs bred for dog fighting. They’re not biddable. Nobody with any knowledge of breed characteristics tries to convince the general public that Rottweilers or Huskies, or Malinois are the best choice for the average family.
Who benefits? That’s always the question. Who profits? Who are the victims of those that profit? Who is benefiting from the ensuing chaos?
Those are the questions we need to answer to solve the pitbull problem or at the very least, to start laying groundwork in the right direction for the purposes of public safety policy.
I so much agree👍
I recently saw a Subaru commercial in which a young woman adopts a pitbull type dog from a shelter. The dog is anxious, but hey, she brings it home in a Subaru, so maybe, because of that, it won’t attack her on the first night. I guess we are supposed to associate Subaru with being a hero to unwanted dogs. Using a pitbull in this commerical is way beyond irresonsible. What arseholery.
Mandatory inclusion of dogs in commercials. Don’t get me started on that one. Just don’t.
I saw that ad, too. Totally agree. Wish it were merely unbearably cringey, but no, it’s also a very dangerous and reckless ad because it’s a pit.
*irresponsible
I was watching Inside Edition recently and was surprised and happy to see that they did a segment on the Chris Culbertson pit bull mauling on November 2nd in Kansas City that led to his death. The pitties dragged him off of his bicycle and viciously attacked him and it was all caught on someone’s Ring doorbell camera. The story was worthy of being aired on the national news but didn’t make the cut as usual. Shark attacks are always reported. Pit bull attacks which far more often cause fatal injuries, are never reported by the national media. The saddest part of the Inside Edition story was that Culbertson’s sister was interviewed and said she is it’s not the pitbull’s fault. It’s the owner’s fault because the owner trained the pitbulls to attack and kill. Unbelievable that many out there think this way.
I don’t blame the pitbulls for killing. After all, they are dogs and don’t know that killing people and pets is wrong.
The people who developed this breed wanted them to be killers. They put them in pit fights and bet on the winner.
They.bred for the best killers.
Farmers have produced killer bulls. In their desire to produce the best dairy bull, sometimes the results have been
very dangerous bulls. However, they are locked up and handled very carefully. They aren’t turned loose or sold as good pets. They haven’t replaced horses for good pets.
I wish I knew how to get rid of the pitbull breeders. With all the pitbulls needing
new homes, how could the shelters tell the truth and be able to find new homes for their pitbulls? I think they would have to euthanize all of them. That doesn’t seem right since most don’t kill people. The best solution might be to mandate certain facilities for them. Yet that wouldn’t keep the pitbulls from killing their owners or caregivers. Limiting who they can sell to could work if enforced. In other words, every person taking a pitbull home would already have suitable equipment to keep the pitbulls at home. Shelters often don’t sell GSDs to people without fenced yards so why cannot the shelters require people with pitbulls to have equipment for them. The answer is it would deter pitbull sales.
The idea of euthanizing all pitbulls doesn’t make me sad in the least. Animal euthanasia can be done very humanely, and the breed needs to be eradicated. While it’s perhaps true that most won’t kill, we have no way of knowing which will kill and which will not. Therefore, they all represent a threat. Even the most careful and responsible owner cannot absolutely guarantee that a dog will never get loose in its lifetime. Dispensing of them all humanely is what a sane society would do.
50%+ pitbulls are dog aggressive when they reach maturity.
That makes more than half of them a threat to other pets–but a threat to anyone who has to break up the fights. Slapping a heavy leash and collar on them isn’t prevention, it’s a panacea.
What other domesticated animal in human history, including notoriously hard-to-manage animals such as camels and elephants, come even close to that level of dangerousness?
Exactly!
Shelters used to do exactly that: they would euthanize pitbulls that came into their facilities because they knew pits did not make good family pets. That was not wrong. Pushing pitbulls out into communities like they do now is wrong. Here on this site we see some of the worst consequences of these new, bad policies shelters have.
Updated articles say “Deuce” was the attacking dog, euthanized at vet clinic due to declining health after the cops shot it. I’m sure there will be a myriad of victim blaming excuses from pit bull apologists and those who own the dog’s offspring.
__McGuire also said the couple “put them in cages” to keep the dogs from fighting, indicating the other three pit bulls may have been kenneled during the attack.__
And the fact they had to cage three of them at all times and run their household around dog shuffling–should have been the second clue that these dogs were unsafe in human habitats.
The first was that they were pitbulls.
“The city euthanized Deuce, the attacking dog.”
This meat grinder took 3 shots from cops and still had to be put down.
Keep that in mind if you think you are going to take one one with your bare hands.