Posted on October 27, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Child Dies After Deputies Arrive to Family Pit Bull 'Slinging the Child Around' in its Mouth

Triniti Harrell, 1-year old, died of her injuries after being attacked by a family pit bull.

Child Dies of Injuries
Rocky Mount, NC - The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed today that Triniti Harrell has died. Last Monday, deputies arrived to the scene of a family dog slinging the 1-year old child around in its mouth. A fast-acting deputy shot and killed the dog. Triniti was airlifted to a trauma center with life-threatening injuries. On Friday, family friends reported on Facebook that she had no blood flow to her brain. On Sunday, a post stated that she had been removed from life support.

During the frantic 911 call, the child's mother can be heard screaming repeatedly, "Kilo STOP!" The dog's name was not stated in media reports last week, which transcribed parts of the call. The mother's boyfriend, who lives at the home where the attack occurred, owns a pit bull named Kilo that is about 8-years old, according to his Facebook posts. In a 2014 photograph of Kilo, he wrote, "hate he like to kill shit but o well I love him either way (haha those poor lil bunnies" [sic].

Case Background

On October 22, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a family dog actively attacking a 1-year old child in the 12000 block of NC 43 North in Rocky Mount. The mother was trying to stab the dog to get it to release her child. "Detective Whitaker was one of the first officers on scene and observed the dog slinging the child around in its mouth. Detective Whitaker acted quickly and shot and killed the dog," states a release issued by the sheriff's office on the 24th.

The child was airlifted to Vidant Medical Center with life-threatening injuries then transferred to UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill.

On Wednesday, Sheriff Clee Atkinson gave a press conference. The family dog was a 6-year old pit bull-mix. Officers described the attack "as the pit bull shaking a baby doll," Atkinson said. "That’s how aggressive it was." Atkinson said the deputy "saved that baby's life," and commended his precise shooting. "A lot of law enforcement officers would have been hesitant to take that shot," Atkinson said. "We're looking at inches." The child was later identified as Triniti Harrell.

We may never know why the dog attacked, Atkinson said. "I just want to say that I have not slept and my deputies have not slept since the injuries, the incident." The attack and injuries were so traumatic, Atkinson called it "character building." He asked for prayers from the public. "One of the things that hit home for us," Atkinson said, "is a lot of my deputies have small children. I want the public and the citizens to continue to pray for us. Because it's a character building moment."

On Thursday, text from the chilling 911 call was released. The dispatcher suggested ways for the child's mother, Miranda Harrell, to get the pit bull to release the child. First, by shoving a stick into the dog's mouth to pry its jaws open. Next, by hitting the dog with a pan or a shovel to halt the attack. Next, the dispatcher asks Harrell, "Can you run in the house and grab a steak knife or something? If you will run in the house and get a knife, I will tell you how to get him off her."

"Ma'am, yelling at him is not going to change anything. I need you to find something sharp, and I'll explain to you how to get the dog off of her," the dispatcher tells her.

After a couple minutes, she runs into her house and grabs a knife, and the dispatcher instructs her how to slit the dog's throat.

"Cut him across the bottom of his neck. It's going to release his jaw muscles. He won't have a choice but to let go," he says.

"I'm trying. The blade isn't sharp enough," Harrell says. - WRAL.com

What is remarkable about the dispatcher is that he or she appears trained in methods to stop a pit bull attack, given the reality of the objects the mother might have within her reach. After the dispatcher states, "I've got everybody I can get en route to you," the first suggestion is a break stick. The problem is, not many pit bull owners know how to use one. The next instruction is to try to "knock the dog out" by hitting it extremely hard on the top if its head with a pan or shovel.

Then the suggestion moves to a sharp object -- lethal intervention. As each minute passes, the pit bull goes deeper into the zone, where "they don’t feel the pain anymore," according to Cesar Millan. The only option left is lethal intervention. "I need you to do anything you can do with that to make that dog let go. The dog's life is not a concern to me at this point," states the dispatcher, who knows this is a potential fatal dog mauling. We've never seen this level of training before!

Throughout the harrowing 10 minute call, Harrell pleaded, "I can't get him off" and "She's dying please help." As the mother struggles with a knife too dull to fulfill its lethal task, the deputy arrived. He shot the dog once, which did not stop the dog, then shot it again, killing it. Triniti was clinging to life when she was flown to Vidant Medical Center. News reports later stated she was in stable condition, but that is not what family and friends have been saying on Facebook.

This pit bull-mix was described as a family pet for six years prior to unleashing an explosive, unpredictable attack while interacting with the small child. During the press conference, one reporter asked if the deputy was wearing a bodycam. Understandably, Sheriff Atkinson did not initially answer the question, but later said, "No, no, no." This horrific and deadly attack by a family pit bull follows another family pit bull killing a man in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in August.

Listen to the 911 call released in full by News Channel 12 that we first heard on October 28.

On 10/22/18, The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a dog actively attacking a one year old child at 12039 NC 43 North, Rocky Mount. The dog was the family’s dog. The mother of the child was trying to stab the dog to get it off of the child. Deputies responded. Detective Whitaker was one of the first officers on scene and observed the dog slinging the child around in its mouth. Detective Whitaker acted quickly and shot and killed the dog.

Edgecombe County Rescue Squad and deputies on scene performed emergency first aid on the child to try to stabilize her as she was clinging to life at this point. She was transported to the hospital and then flown to Vidant Pitt for treatment. At this time, her status is believed to be stable.

Out of respect for the family, we are not releasing any names or identifying information at this time. We ask that everyone keep the little girl and her family in their thoughts and prayers. We hope for a full recovery for the little girl. No charges are expected in this matter. - Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office 10/24/18

Triniti Harrell, slinging child around pit bull mix kills

In the 911 call, the mother repeatedly screams "Kilo STOP!" Her boyfriend owns a pit bull named Kilo that is about 8-years old. Initially, we had thought a different family pit bull, named Major, was the only pit bull in the household. Kilo is not a pit bull "mix." View a PDF of both dogs.

Triniti Harrell, slinging the child around pit bull

A Beware of the Dog sign hung on the front of the family's home near Rocky Mount, NC.

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: North Carolina Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Dies After Being Mauled by Family Pit Bull in Southeast D.C.

Angela Smith, 55-years old, was killed by her family pit bull in Southeast D.C.

Longtime Family Pet
UPDATE 10/15/18: On Monday, the victim's husband spoke to the media outside of his home. Last night, the couple's pit bull of eight years fatally attacked Angela Smith. "I left the house," Rob Frazier said, holding back tears. "It was 15 minutes and I came back," he paused. "She was dead. That's all I know." The couple had been together for two decades, but only married two years ago. The male pit bull, named Kaine, had been given to Frazier by his nephew when it was a puppy.

About 6:30 pm Sunday, police were dispatched to Frazier and Smith's row home in the 1300 block of Dexter Terrace SE in Southeast D.C. They discovered Smith unconscious, suffering from "multiple trauma wounds." She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Frazier said his mother was also in the home during the attack, but was asleep and did not hear anything. Authorities took the dog into custody; it has since been humanely euthanized.

Frazier said the dog was food aggressive, which may have triggered the attack. "I'm thinking she might have taken some food or something like that from him and he's real aggressive like that," Frazier said. Yet, a family dog attack resulting in human fatality is an absolutely disproportionate response to this. As animal behaviorist Alexandra Semyonova has explained in the past, selecting for impulsive aggression, as dogfighters did, created an utterly disproportionate response:

"It’s also not realistic to pretend that impulsive aggression is not pathological. The environments (the fighting pit, the baited bull, the escaping slave) for which these behaviors were selected as an adaptive response are so extreme that in fact there is no appropriate context for these behaviors in normal life." - Alexandra Semyonova, Heritability of Behavior in the Abnormally Aggressive Dog, November 2006.

It is also important to reemphasize that the agency contracting with the District of Columbia for animal control services, Humane Rescue Alliance, lied to the media and the American public after this horrific attack, calling this dog a "mixed-breed" instead of a pit bull. D.C. police later stepped in and confirmed this dog was a pit bull. The Alliance has pit bulls plastered all over their website and transport vans. Our nonprofit will address D.C. city officials about this deliberate deception.

After emails sent today, complaints going out snail mail Friday to @DCPoliceDept & DC council members regarding the contracting AC body, who claimed under the "backdrop" of a pit bull branded transport van, the fatal attacker was a mixed-breed. -DogsBite.org (@dogsbite) October 19, 2018

View: DogsBite.org letter to MPD Police Chief Peter Newsham, sent October 19, 2018

10/14/18: Woman Killed by Pit Bull
District of Columbia - A 55-year old woman is dead after being mauled by a pit bull in Southeast D.C. Responders were dispatched just after 6:30 pm to the 1300 block of Dexter Terrace SE for a report of a woman mauled by a dog. Dexter Terrace is just one block long with rowhouses on both sides. The victim was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she was pronounced dead. It is unclear who owns the dog, but the deadly attack occurred indoors.

NBC Washington reports the attacking dog could be seen resisting efforts when taken into custody and tried to bite one of the officers while being removed from the home. "Multiple workers" were eventually able to haul the dog into a Humane Rescue Alliance van "using a blanket to lift its hind legs," reports NBC Washington. Neighbors told the news outlet they had seen the victim walking the male dog in the past. None of them had witnessed the animal acting aggressively before.

So far in 2018, one quarter (7 of 28) of all recorded fatal dog maulings have been attacks upon their owners, the very hand that feeds and houses these dogs. This does not include this immediate woman who may or may not be the dog's owner. Five of these owner deaths involved pit bulls, one fatality involved a dogo Argentino and another involved a mastiff-mix adopted out three days earlier. So far in 2018, at least 28 Americans have been mauled to death by a dog.

Monday Morning Updates

Fox 5 confirmed the woman was killed by her own pit bull, bringing the tally of owner inflicted canine deaths up to 29% this year. On Monday, D.C. police identified the woman as 55-year old Angela Smith. WTOP reported that the contracting animal control agency, Humane Rescue Alliance, refused to call the dog a pit bull and instead lied to the media and American public -- in an effort to falsify United States fatal dog attack statistics -- calling this dog a "mixed-breed."

Male family pit bull named "Kaine" being taken into custody after killing Angela Smith, 55.

Pit bull being hoisted into the animal control van after fatally attacking family member in D.C.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Maryland and D.C. Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

2018 Dog Bite Fatality: 2-Year Old Girl Mauled to Death by Family Dog in Alvin, Texas

Denali Gonzalez, 2-years old, was killed by her family's new dog in Alvin, Texas.

Child Identified
UPDATE 10/16/18: A 2-year old girl fatally mauled by a family dog Friday has been identified. Denali Gonzalez died of her injuries at the scene. Her mother and children were returning home from a shopping trip and carrying in bags when the dog suddenly attacked the girl in the yard, Lt. Varon Snelgrove said Saturday. The dog's jaw locked in around her upper torso and throat and it all happened very quickly. "There's nothing the family could have done," Snelgrove said then.

About 5:00 pm Friday, Brazoria County Sheriff’s deputies and Alvin Animal Control officers arrived at a home in the 3900 block of County Road 424B (also known as Morning Dove Street) and found the dog had severely attacked the young girl, reports the Alvin Sun. The child was unresponsive and could not be revived. The dog, described as a mix of varying breeds, was so aggressive when officials arrived they had to tranquilized it with a dart. The dog was euthanized at the scene.

On Saturday, the victim's brother told KHOU the dog was new to the household and had been aggressive since it was brought to the family's home -- the dog even bit him. He said they were in the process of having the dog removed, but they did not act soon enough. It is unknown if the dog was adopted from a shelter or rehomed through another means. The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses.

10/13/18: New Family Dog Kills Toddler
Alvin, TX - The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a 2-year old girl was mauled to death by a family dog Friday afternoon. The deadly attack occurred in the 3900 block of Morning Dove Street, near Quail Drive, about 6:00 pm. The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene. She was transported to the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. The family dog, described as a mixed-breed, possibly a pit bull-mix, was taken into custody.

"It's a terrible incident where the family dog attacked a 2-year-old. We have no idea why. It's been a long time since we've had anything like this happen. It's a tragedy for all involved." - Brazoria Sheriff Charles Wagner

A separate report by the Houston Chronicle describes the dog as a leopard cur breed-mix, also known as an American leopard hound and possibly the Catahoula leopard dog. Catahoulas come in a variety of mixed-breed flavors, including mixed with American bulldogs and mixed with pit bull terriers. A merle coat often characterizes their appearance. The sheriff's office is not releasing the name of the family or the deceased child at this time. The dog has already been euthanized.

Evening Updates

Over the course of Saturday, the breed became a "mixed-breed" that appears to be a Leopard cur-mix, according to animal control. The Brazoria County Sheriff's Office told Click2Houston that DNA was taken from the dog, and its exact breed makeup will be determined at another time. When officials arrived at the scene, the dog was so aggressive it had to be tranquilized with a dart; the dog was euthanized at the scene. The KHOU evening update provides more information.

KHOU spoke to the victim's brother, who would not go on camera, but said the new dog was aggressive from the time it was brought to the family's home -- the dog even bit him. He said they were in the process of having the dog removed, but they did not act fast enough. It is unknown if the dog was adopted from a shelter or rehomed through another means. The brother's account is vastly different from earlier news reports, which stated the dog had no history of aggression.

Lt. Varon Snelgrove told the Houston Chronicle, the animal had no known history of violence or aggression. "The mother and children were returning home from a shopping trip and carrying in bags when the dog suddenly attacked the girl in the yard, he said. The dog's jaw locked in around her upper torso and throat and it all happened very quickly," reports the Chronicle. "There's nothing the family could have done," Snelgrove said. "It's just a horrific, horrific incident."

A 2-year old girl was killed by a family dog on Morning Dove Street Friday in Alvin, Texas

Baseline reporting requirements:
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.

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull-Mix Attacks Two Family Members, Killing One Near Mount Shasta; No Media Reports

Teena Mawhorter, 74, died after being attacked by a family pit bull-mix in September.

Mount Shasta, CA - In mid September, we received a tip that a woman died after being attacked by a pit bull in the Mount Shasta area. By searching through dispatch logs on Webcastify, we obtained a September 6 recording of a 74-year old female "bitten by a dog in the head" in the 5000 block of Serrano Drive. We then learned that a resident of this home had died on September 6. We sent a public information request to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office and the coroner.

On October 10, we received two reports from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, as well as a copy of the bite reports. Teena Carol Mawhorter, 74-years old, was viciously attacked by a family pit bull-mix about 10:30 am that morning. Doctors pronounced her dead at 11:58 am. The cause of death was determined to be "severe blunt facial and head trauma." A contributing factor was heart disease. The dog also attacked one of her daughters (Victim 2), who tried to stop the attack.

Victim 2 witnessed the violent mauling, which is briefly described in the sheriff's report. Victim 2 also said the dog was "usually friendly."

Mawhorter was in the kitchen seated in a chair when the attack occurred, states the report. Victim 2 was taking Mawhorter a glass of water when she saw her reach under the table to pet her dog. "The dog then started attacking Mawhorter causing her to fall out of the kitchen chair," states the report. "The dog viciously attacked Mawhorter and was biting her face and the area of the back of her head." When Victim 2 intervened to stop the attack the dog attacked her too, states the report.

Both Mawhorter and Victim 2 were on the kitchen floor being attacked by the pit bull-mix when a male roommate pulled the dog away. Victim 2 had a 4 inch laceration on the back of her head and blood covering the left side of her face and both arms, states the report. Victim 2's account was taken at the scene of the attack. After emergency medical responders performed CPR on Mawhorter for 35 minutes, both women were taken to Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta.

Mawhorter suffered severe injuries to her face and the back of her head. The dog also ripped off a portion of her scalp. The report also describes a large amount of blood at the scene. Mawhorter was declared dead at 11:58 am at Mercy. An autopsy was conducted five days later. The cause of death was determined to be "severe blunt facial and head trauma." A contributing factor of Atherosclerosis heart disease was also determined. The manner of death was accidental.

Victim 2 is one of two surviving daughters of Mawhorter. The other daughter, Paula Jones, is the owner of the pit bull-mix, and also resides at the home on Serrano Drive where the attack occurred, according to the animal bite report. The attacking dog is listed as a brown and white "pit bull, collie terrier." Since her mother's death, Jones continues to have a photo featured on her Facebook page of a brown and white pit bull-mix. Extended family members also own pit bulls.

After locating the dispatch recording from Siskiyou County Fire and learning the physical address of the attack, we were able to quickly locate more information prior to receiving confirmation from the sheriff's office. A Facebook Memorial page stated that Mawhorter died on September 6. Her family had also started a GoFundMe page to help with funeral costs. There is no mention anywhere of a violent dog mauling. Nor was there any media coverage of this fatal dog attack.

mount shasta pit bull killed family member

2014 photograph of a brown and white pit bull-mix featured on the daughter's Facebook page.

In 2017, we uncovered two unreported fatal dog maulings, one in Illinois, the other in Florida. Two deaths by sepsis due to untreated severe dog bite injuries were discovered in 2017 involving previous years and two deaths involving aggressive non-bite injuries (struck by dog death) were discovered in Ohio and Arkansas. Cases involving sepsis and non-bite injuries are excluded from our statistics. Qualifying struck by dog deaths may be added to our data set at a future time.

Anonymous tips about fatal dog maulings are confidential and can be sent to us at any time.

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

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