A pit bull rampage attack in West Baltimore left one woman dead and two others injured. The audio dispatch logs of the Baltimore City Police Western District were provided by Broadcastify.com.
Mauling Victim Identified
UPDATE 06/17/24: The woman mauled and killed by two pit bulls Friday has been identified as 54-year old Sheila Jones. Two other victims have been treated for their injuries and released: a 67-year old woman, who sustained a bite wound to her arm, and a 42-year old man, who sustained bite injuries to his arm, leg and face. "As officers began to clear the area for anybody walking around for their safety, the dogs returned and started to attack another victim," Det. Vernon Davis told WJZ.
Police continue to search for the dogs' owner(s). The pit bulls were not wearing identification tags when they were captured. The pit bull that was shot by police has since been euthanized. The other pit bull remains in custody at Baltimore City Animal Control. Marvin Cheatham, President of the Matthew Henson Neighborhood Association, said there are at least 30 pit bulls living in the area. "They all belong to somebody. No such thing as a stray pit bull in the Western District," Cheatham said.
Cheatham and other residents want to know the physical description of each dog involved in the multi-victim attack to help track down their owners, as well as other dogs that may be related to (or offspring of) these pit bulls. "I've been here 73 years, it's not like the police don't know who I am," Cheatham said. "All we are asking for is, to give us some information so we can let the neighbors know what these dogs look like because then we can probably pinpoint who owns them," he told WJZ.
The Baltimore Sun spoke to Melton Montgomery, who has lived in the area for about two months and witnessed part of the incident. Montgomery said that four pit bulls were involved, and they all had collars, indicating ownership. "There were four of them [pit bulls] and two of them were chasing after the police. Police were running for their life," Montgomery said. Only two of the dogs were caught, he said. Two remain loose. "We saw four dogs. I was right here, and they were trying to kill," he said.
06/14/24: Multi-Victim Pit Bull Attack
Baltimore, MD - On Friday evening, a multi-victim pit bull rampage attack was reported in a West Baltimore neighborhood, several blocks from the Mondawmin Mall. The attack occurred just after 9:00 pm near the intersection of North Pulaski Street and Clifton Avenue. A 50-year old woman died from the injuries she sustained, a 30-year old female was not conscious, and a third victim sustained unknown injuries. Officers shot one of the pit bulls; both pit bulls were collected by animal control.
We obtained the audio dispatch logs of the Baltimore City Police Western District from Broadcastify. In total, we reviewed the first 25 minutes (9:06 pm to 9:30 pm). There are more minutes to review. Because of the late hour we are only releasing the below. This was a rampage attack by two pit bulls, apparently, over multiple blocks. It is unknown if any of the victims knew each other. The 30-year old victim, who was found "not conscious, not breathing," did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
Officer: "I am en route to the animal bite on Pulaski..."
Dispatcher: "I have two tickets in reference. Ticket number one. I have an animal bite at 2016 North Pulaski Street ... states that two pit bulls have severely injured a female at the location. The victim does not appear to be breathing. The pit bulls are still roaming the area. The second ticket in reference is coming in as a police notify ... 30-year old female, not conscious, not breathing. Female bit by several dogs. The pit bulls are still on scene in the alley at the location. And I just had a third ticket of reference come in ... Same location, 2016 North Pulaski Street..."
Condensed minutes 9:10 pm to 9:30 pm: There is an officer screaming in the background, "We need a medic, unresponsive female in the alley!" ... "2113 Clifton Avenue, requesting an additional unit" (for the second victim) ... "The [dogs] are running south bound through the alley ... Someone try to get eyes on them" ... Officer shouts: "Have medics respond to the alley, she is unresponsive!" A second later, "Medics are on scene." The dogs fled the scene after attacking the victims and police are looking for them. Officers say a "public safety announcement" is needed. "I've got children out on the sidewalks in the surrounding block"... Officer asks, "Do we have the owner of the dog?" There is no answer...
Police officers continue to search for the dogs in the dark with flashlights. One shouts: "They just ran down the alley!" They are "going to be north of Clifton in the 2100 block of Fulton." Police devise a plan to "box the dogs in" and remain cautious of "crossfire." Shot fired, "shot fired" at approximately 9:16 pm. "Watch your crossfire!" Officer states, "I did discharge my firearm in the alley." Another asks, "Did you get the dog?" ... "The dogs are still up on their feet it looks like behind 2128 Fulton. One dog is bleeding" ... The dogs are now at 2134 Fulton in the rear underneath the awning ... "Do we have animal control responding?" ...
At 9:19 pm, "We've got a dog!" One dog is laying down, bleeding after being struck by gunfire. Second dog is underneath the porch ... At 9:21 pm, police "have eyes on both dogs," and they are trying to get an officer with a shotgun to the area, "that's going to be the preferred weapon." Police set up a discharge plan, in case they do need to fire on remaining dog ... Dogs are heard barking in the background ... officers are closing in ... animal control is en route. Officers requesting a dog pole. At 9:29 pm, "Get animal control out here with a dog pole!" One police unit is responding with a dog pole. "Citywide, once again, ANY unit with a shotgun, ballistic shield, or dog pole, now it is ASAP, respond to the Western district."]
As of Saturday afternoon, none of the victims have been identified. One was taken to the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland. The other victim was taken to St. Agnes hospital. During the two 30 minute segments of the audio dispatch log files, officers asked several times, "Do we know the owner of the dogs?" The question is not answered. During the last 30 minute segment, the remaining pit bull is hiding underneath a porch. Police are waiting on animal control to lure it out.
Area of the pit bull rampage attack in West Baltimore. Victims primarily attacked in alleys near North Pulaski Street and Clifton Avenue, last dog captured on North Fulton Avenue.
Alley entrance near North Pulaski Street where a large police and fire presence was seen during the nighttime pit bull rampage attack in West Baltimore on June 14, 2024.
Sheila Jones, 54-years old, was mauled and killed by two loose pit bulls in West Baltimore.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Maryland and D.C. Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.Related articles:
06/02/14: Maryland Legislature Mutes Landmark Ruling, Tracey v. Solesky, During 2014 Session
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.
Poor lady she died a horrific death. How many people had to died by vicious pitbull before america put a serious ban on pitbull but I guess american people valued pitbull dogs lives over people’s lives. I wonder who the pitbull belongs to or was they loose pitbull.if the police killed one pitbull they should putdown the other two vicious pitbull so no other people would died if they put the dogs up for adoption.
I don’t understand why the authorities risk other people’s lives mucking around trying to corral and pole loose pits. Should have just shot them both dead ASAP.
It was dark — the dogs fled the scene. Police had to locate the dogs!
Agreed. The police were boxing the dogs in and afraid of crossfire on their own. There were also children and other people out on the streets, which is common in hot weather in this area of Baltimore. The police seemed to have handled this well. No people were injured by gunfire and both dogs were captured.
You’re more likely to be killed by a Pitbull here in the US than by a Lion in Africa.
Read that again!
Absolutely awful. This should never happen in a civilized country.
I listened to the audio. A few things really stood out:
– This chaos, this danger to life and limb for anyone in the vicinity, was caused by someone’s choice of a pet.
– There are an incredible number of public servants involved, at a great cost to tax payers.
– If Animal Control is expected to deal with a situation such as this, they need better funding that is spent in the best way – not on no-kill shelters and sustaining the problems that caused this situation in the first place.
– If I didn’t know that these were dogs, this audio could have been about some wild carnivore that escaped from a zoo. They had already killed one person, and two others are most likely to have life-changing injuries.
Again, these dogs were someone’s choice of a pet. While I’m generally for personal liberties, a person’s choices should be limited when they start causing others to be injured or killed. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable thing to expect. There is enough evidence, on video, to know unequivocally that these dogs are dangerous. They do not belong in our homes, on our streets, in our shelters.
Agreed, Farmer Jayne.
Pitbulls are not pets.
They’re apex predators. We don’t allow people to bring home panthers, or lions, bears or wolves for that exact reason.
Dogs are supposed to be scavengers and game hunters.
Not apex predators where other dogs and humans are part of their food chain.
You may or may not have realized that a police helicopter was guiding police in their search for the dogs. When he says, “I have eyes on the dogs”, he’s referring to being in the air above with a giant light shining down. At least one of the victims was attacked in the alley as well, so police guide EMS/Fire down a dark alley amid the chaos. The range the dogs ran is even further than what our map shows — they were down on Walbrook Ave. too before they ran up to North Fulton. This was an extensive operation at night, while the dogs were running, dodging and hiding from police. “If I didn’t know that these were dogs, this audio could have been about some wild carnivore that escaped from a zoo. They had already killed one person, and two others are most likely to have life-changing injuries.” Correct!
“We need a shotgun”
Wow. just wow.
I am in Germany, now, and it is Fußball-Europameisterschaft 2024 Euro football cup (something ) going on … I was watching the news and saw that in Hamburg -there was a crowd of people, football fans in the streets and some guy was having an axe and a bottle of Molotov cocktail in his hands. I do not know German language so well so I was not paying much attention on tv .. but I heard a shot ! The police shot that guy ! OMG! But, they shoot him in to the leg, just to take over him, they gave him a first aid, and took him to a hospital.
I was thinking … later .. if that man was doing that in America -Waving with an axe and a fire bottle in the face of the police – American police would have shoot him… well , like a dog. But wait … not like a dog , any more … because, they do not shoot at the dogs ..unless they were proven guilty ..
In a general scan of news articles on this murderous rampage ( I call it that with no sense of drama, that’s what it was, not just an attack), these dogs are being called “strays”. No where does anyone point out that they are strays simply because the human who chose to own them has not stepped forward to claim responsibility. Also, no mention of the extensive operation required to prevent further injury and death. Essentially, just a couple of strays (random, ownerless dogs) attacked and killed a lady, and bit two other people. Cops shot one (bad cops! according to the articles). I wish everyone could hear the audio. It tells the story more concisely than any of the articles.
This is why we did the audio. This was a rampage attack, and it is not being reported as such. The audio does not lie.
“No such thing as a ‘stray pit bull’ in the Western district,” says resident. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WCPqWVGFUI
It has been my experience that a dog under duress goes home. It’s likely that is exactly what these dogs did, unless they had been dumped by the owner and were in unfamiliar territory.
I once was dispatched to a call for two Pitbulls attacking a cat. When they killed that one they found another and another… The calls from distraught owners kept coming in and my dispatcher would give me each new location. Eventually a witness started chasing the dogs in her car and put enough pressure on them that they gave up on their “fun” and headed home. When I arrived the owners minor daughter was hosing the blood off of them. That city passed an ordinance to try to protect the citizens. Pitbulls were (hopefully still are) required to be wearing a muzzle when off the owners property. Didn’t stop the problem but it did give the city some leverage when citing the dog owners for violations!
This story and many others like it are the reason I despise this breed.
I went to several seminars, classes (call it what you like) to try to “recalibrate” my brain to “blame the deed not the breed”.
I couldn’t do it because the evidence didn’t support it. The evidence clearly shows that it IS the BREED.
I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where the tv news has dogs up for adoption. I guess 75-85% are Pitt Bulls/Pitt Bull Mixes that are so sweet, playful and great with kids. When you go to dog adoption centers, again 75-85%+ are Pitt Bulls/Pitt Bull Mixes adopted by persons that do not know the statistics of Pitt Bull/Pitt Bull Mixes human kills/injuries. Also, I understand the adoption centers sometimes do not disclose the reason for rehoming or that there was a bite incident. If only we could stop “promoting” Pitt Bulls/Pitt Bull Mixes, maybe we would see less horrendous events associated with dog bites/kills humans and other animals.
While I would love a ban I would settle for getting tax payer supported shelters out of the pit pushing business.
The pit pushers say it all depends on how the pits were raised.
Fine, since there is no way to know how pits found running loose were raised, they get the juice.
It is obvious most people do not want pits because shelters have resorted to lying about breed or just pretending they can’t ID breed on any dogs.
If the pit stopped being the default shelter dog and the only people who got them had to seek them out and pay retail the carnage would decrease.
Particularly if shelters PTS any pits they picked up loose.
If pits were no longer free and no longer allowed to run wild I think some pit owners would get tired of having to pay cash for a new one every 6 months when theirs “somehow got out” and got picked up by animal control.
Sadly I don’t see anyway to get animal control back to controlling animals.
Much like many District Attorneys are now quite open about the fact they only care about the criminal’s rights and well being rather than doing their job that is representing victims of crime.
For some reason loudly proclaiming “If elected I will refuse to do my job” isn’t a deal breaker in much of the country.
Oddly enough there seems to be no legal obligation for most government workers or departments to do their jobs.
Back in the 90’s Wash DC had two shelters, I knew an AC officer that worked at one and then their policy was to never adopt out any pits that were picked up. Political correctness has changed all that, now they mostly have pit bulls and mixes to adopt out.
I keep saying this.
If beagles and other failed hunting dogs were the default “stray dogs” we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Even when Huskies/mixes became the default dogs after BSL here, at least, for all their faults, shelters weren’t selling them to people with babies and they weren’t eating people for all the odd biting incidents. Mostly they were returned for being bored and eating sofas.
Now, even WITH BSL these pitbull pushers are conning people into taking “Labrador mixes” that look suspiciously like pitbulls. Without warning labels of “might be a pitbull, we didn’t do DNA”
Then there’s the out-and-out obvious pitbulls out there that aren’t being monitored.
Welp, with the new dangerous dog laws…at least we get to check the public website to see who owns the beasts if they threaten anyone.
This post has been updated with new information — the victim who died has been identified and one witness said that four pit bulls were involved.
Why haven’t we all seen a photo of the dog in custody so that community members can identify the owner of the animals? Especially if there could be two more attacking dogs still in the neighborhood. Animal Control’s press release sounds like it was written by ChatGPT.
Good point, Rebecca. Human *suspected* of killing a person and the cops stick the mugshot on the nightly TV and all over twitter to find them. Too bad if they have the wrong person. Oops. The label, sticks.
Pitbull caught killing a person? Nope.
Pitbull owners seem to have more privacy protection than anyone else…
I don’t get why it is so hard to get pics of attacking dogs.
A dog is property it has no right to privacy.
Many times when pics are released other victims come forward as in “That’s the dog that bit me last month.”
That can be helpful in states that require each and every pit to have gotten caught mauling at least once before the owner can face any criminal consequences.
After all, how could an owner of the type of dog that kills more people each year than all other dogs combined have any idea that their dog might be dangerous?
I guess I should be thankful that’s not the standard for “exotic” animals.
“My tiger is harmless, it has never eaten anyone.”
It is so frustrating. Apparently, police think it will compromise the investigation. But in this case, the public might help police identify the owner. Who knows, maybe police are showing photos of the dogs to various neighbors? They have already euthanized the second dog too. No words.
Colleen:
You know that “compromise the investigation” was the catchphrase of police when they refused to let women know there are serial rapists/murderers in a neighbourhood?
The lawsuits put pad to that nonsense.
That’s likely what it will take before it happens with attacking pitbulls.
The fact that a *person* might be innocent and get targeted by a public witch hunt is a concern but we are talking about *dogs* here.
Yes it would be sad if someone shot the wrong pitbull. But the *owner’s* life wouldn’t be ruined over it.
We’re living in clown world, here.
This happened less than 2 miles from where I live. The BCPD is a corrupt, incompetent organization. Who knows why they didn’t release info on the dogs. Probably plain stupidity. Animal control needs to organize a culling of “stray” (rampaging, unleashed) pitbulls ASAP. The beasts should be shot on sight, or captured and put down at the shelter. People here are angry and terrified of those things. We’ll never get BSL passed because the pit lobby comes in a writes pit friendly legislation, which idiot politicians then pass. That poor woman, my neighbor, should not have died like that. It’s up to the authorities to make sure that no one else has to suffer the same fate.