Please donate to support our work

DogsBite.org is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity organization. Learn more »

10 thoughts on “2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Bullmastiff Kills Child, Seriously Injures Another in Killeen, Texas

Please review our comment policy.

  1. Well what a night. I was checking email before going to bed and thought I was reading the same story in Paterson NJ for a minute, then realized it was an 8 and 2 year old in Killeen. Nice homes, nice neighborhoods but its like we are living in India or Pakistan, but instead of bans of wild, homeless dogs eating people, these dogs are living in the laps of luxury and the owners still can't control them.

  2. That be four dead children in just five days.

    8 dead by dog attack so far in 2014. 7 killed by pit bull type dogs.

    Child fatalities by pit bull type dogs (5):
    Kara Hartrich – 4 y.o. – Bloomington IL ** [Jan 17]
    Je’vaeh Mayes – 2 y.o. – Temple TX ** [Feb 17]
    Braelynn Rayne Coulter – High Point NC ** [Feb 25]
    Summer Sears – 4 y.o. – Tallassee GA [Feb 26]
    Unnamed as yet – 13 y.o. boy – Patterson NJ [28 Feb – bull mastiff]
    Unnamed as yet – 2 y.o. boy – Killeen TX ** [1 March — bullmastiff]

    Adult fatalities by pit bull type dogs (2):
    Christina Bell-Burleson – 43 – Houston TX ** [Jan 5]
    Klonda Richey – 57 – Dayton OH ** [Feb 7 – two pit bull / mastiff mixes]

    Non-bite fatalities:
    Carlos Eligio Trevina – 54 y.o. – Idaho Falls ID – [Jan 9] – Died of a heart attack immediately after breaking up a fight between his seven pit bulls / pit mixes

    One Rottweiler killing: Annabel Martin – 89 y.o. – Corona CA [Jan 26]

  3. I'm having a problem with the timeline of both these last Bullmastiff mauling deaths. In Killeen they got the monster off the 8-yr-old girl and then it got the toddler. You know someone had to have picked up that child and had it in their arms you would think ??? The 18-yr-old that had taken them to the playground maybe??? Another neighbor maybe? I guess I'm wanting to hear from a witness to this carnage!

  4. I just don't even know what to say anymore. My heart hurts from these senseless deaths.

  5. That's just it, there are no regulations for how to keep dangerous breeds. The way we keep normal dogs is very lax because if your normal dog slips out your out your door, no one is in immediate danger of a lethal attack.

    People are insisting it is OK to keep dogs that are willing and able to inflict a lethal attack the same way we keep labs.

    These bull breeds should be banned. It is the cheapest, easiest way to keep people safe.

  6. Want to get away with murder? Get a dangerous dog. Works every time.

  7. I was one of the people who called 911 on the encounter of the 8yr old and 2 yr old dog attack. The dog grabbed the 2 yr old away from the 18yr old and mauled him like a rag doll. It was horrific site and everyone there did their best to get the little boy away from the dog. We also did our best to save the little boy but he was bit on the neck and lost a lot of blood. Plz don't criticize before you what went down

  8. Kilhir, I don't think anyone was criticizing the 18 year old. I think the criticism is aimed at a dog so vicious and so huge that it can rip a child from an adult's arms. The pit bull mix the AKC calls a 'bullmastiff' likely weighs more than the teenager who was holding the little boy. Of course it's not her fault! I'm sure the poor girl is traumatized and feeling horrible that she couldn't save the child. If you know her, I hope you'll tell her it's not her fault and that she's a hero for trying.

    The official breed standard of the so-called 'bullmastiff' specifies that it is mastiff mixed with at least 40% 'old English bulldog'. The 'old English bulldog' is the original pit bull. It was around for hundreds of years before various kennel clubs began thinking up new names for it.

    The 'bullmastiff' is another pit bull mix, no less than any other pit bull mix in a shelter that hasn't yet been dubbed something fancy and misleading by some kennel club. The only thing that makes it extraordinary is that it often weighs more than an adult human.

  9. This is just so horrible.

    Honestly to think of an alleged "domestic" animal ripping a child out of someones arms and dragging them down the street to kill them is like something out of a horror movie.

    I can not imagine the trauma the witnesses/victims of this incident are suffering.

    As Sputnik said, you can re-label these dogs all you want but at the end of the day its still a pit bull type dog and this one the size of a small horse.

Comments are closed.