05-09-2012, 04:47 AM
LAS CRUCES NM— A 16-month-old girl died Tuesday after being mauled by a pit bull in the backyard of her grandparents’ home, police said.
A neighbor, responding to cries for help, tried to shoot the dog with a .45-caliber handgun but accidentally shot the grandmother in the leg as she tried to pull off the dog, said Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department. Her name was not released.
The neighbor, a 69-year-old man, then followed the pit bull around to the side of the house on the 800 block of Stone Canyon Drive and fatally shot the dog, Trujillo said.
The toddler had multiple injuries to her head and chest and was rushed to nearby Mountainview Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Trujillo said.
Trujillo said the 2-year-old pit bull “was a big dog” but he did not know its weight. It belonged to the family but it wasn’t known Tuesday afternoon whether the child’s grandmother was the owner.
The dog apparently attacked the little girl about 11 a.m. Tuesday, and when the grandmother tried to intervene, the dog attacked her.
The neighbor, who heard the grandmother’s screams, retrieved his handgun, called 911 to report the attack, then went to the backyard to try to stop the attack, firing several shots, one of which struck the grandmother.
She was taken to an El Paso hospital for treatment, Trujillo said.
The fatal attack was the latest in a series by pit bulls across the state. Last week, 74-year-old Clifford Wright of Santa Fe was mauled to death by his pit bull while he watered plants in his front yard.
Police on Tuesday euthanized the pit bull that killed Wright. Police said the dog and other pets at the Wright home looked healthy and showed no signs of abuse. A prior complaint involving dogs at the home was made in 2005, when Wright was bitten by another pit bull.
In early March, a 57-year-old man was hospitalized after he was attacked by a pit bull and a pit bull mix while he walked early in the morning in the Santa Teresa area.
On Easter last year, four pit bulls fatally attacked 48-year-old Margaret Salcedo while she walked on the street near her Truth or Consequences home. The owners of the pit bulls, John and Maria Hardiman, were eventually charged with four counts of violating the state’s dangerous dog law, and in January, misdemeanor charges against the Hardimans were bound over to state District Court.
No charges have been filed in Tuesday’s death of the toddler, but Trujillo said the case is still under investigation.
Neighbor Clarice Irons, who went to the home to comfort the grandmother before she was taken to an El Paso hospital, said the woman was “just frantic, hysterical through all this” and expressed deep remorse over the dog attack.
“She was responsible for that child, and I’m sure she took that responsibility very seriously,” Irons said. “That was her baby, her baby granddaughter.”
The grandmother, Irons said, kept saying, “Why is this happening? I can’t believe this.”
Irons described the residents of the home as a close-knit family who had regular weekend gatherings.
Another neighbor, Gerald Otis, said several other dog owners who walked their pets on the street were wary of the pit bull, which was rumored to have attacked dogs on two other occasions.
Trujillo said no complaints had been filed with city police about the pit bull in the past.
“Everyone who went by there (the house), that we know, especially if they had small dogs, was afraid that dog would get loose,” Otis said.
Irons said she heard the neighbor who responded to the grandmother’s cries for help tell police that he accidentally shot the grandmother while trying to kill the dog.
“I think he knows he did the right thing,” Irons said. “I think if he had not killed that dog, it would have killed both people. This was a big dog, big and strong.”
![[Image: 20120508__upnews01dog0508~1_GALLERY.jpg]](http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site557/2012/0508/20120508__upnews01dog0508~1_GALLERY.jpg)
A neighbor, responding to cries for help, tried to shoot the dog with a .45-caliber handgun but accidentally shot the grandmother in the leg as she tried to pull off the dog, said Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department. Her name was not released.
The neighbor, a 69-year-old man, then followed the pit bull around to the side of the house on the 800 block of Stone Canyon Drive and fatally shot the dog, Trujillo said.
The toddler had multiple injuries to her head and chest and was rushed to nearby Mountainview Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Trujillo said.
Trujillo said the 2-year-old pit bull “was a big dog” but he did not know its weight. It belonged to the family but it wasn’t known Tuesday afternoon whether the child’s grandmother was the owner.
The dog apparently attacked the little girl about 11 a.m. Tuesday, and when the grandmother tried to intervene, the dog attacked her.
The neighbor, who heard the grandmother’s screams, retrieved his handgun, called 911 to report the attack, then went to the backyard to try to stop the attack, firing several shots, one of which struck the grandmother.
She was taken to an El Paso hospital for treatment, Trujillo said.
The fatal attack was the latest in a series by pit bulls across the state. Last week, 74-year-old Clifford Wright of Santa Fe was mauled to death by his pit bull while he watered plants in his front yard.
Police on Tuesday euthanized the pit bull that killed Wright. Police said the dog and other pets at the Wright home looked healthy and showed no signs of abuse. A prior complaint involving dogs at the home was made in 2005, when Wright was bitten by another pit bull.
In early March, a 57-year-old man was hospitalized after he was attacked by a pit bull and a pit bull mix while he walked early in the morning in the Santa Teresa area.
On Easter last year, four pit bulls fatally attacked 48-year-old Margaret Salcedo while she walked on the street near her Truth or Consequences home. The owners of the pit bulls, John and Maria Hardiman, were eventually charged with four counts of violating the state’s dangerous dog law, and in January, misdemeanor charges against the Hardimans were bound over to state District Court.
No charges have been filed in Tuesday’s death of the toddler, but Trujillo said the case is still under investigation.
Neighbor Clarice Irons, who went to the home to comfort the grandmother before she was taken to an El Paso hospital, said the woman was “just frantic, hysterical through all this” and expressed deep remorse over the dog attack.
“She was responsible for that child, and I’m sure she took that responsibility very seriously,” Irons said. “That was her baby, her baby granddaughter.”
The grandmother, Irons said, kept saying, “Why is this happening? I can’t believe this.”
Irons described the residents of the home as a close-knit family who had regular weekend gatherings.
Another neighbor, Gerald Otis, said several other dog owners who walked their pets on the street were wary of the pit bull, which was rumored to have attacked dogs on two other occasions.
Trujillo said no complaints had been filed with city police about the pit bull in the past.
“Everyone who went by there (the house), that we know, especially if they had small dogs, was afraid that dog would get loose,” Otis said.
Irons said she heard the neighbor who responded to the grandmother’s cries for help tell police that he accidentally shot the grandmother while trying to kill the dog.
“I think he knows he did the right thing,” Irons said. “I think if he had not killed that dog, it would have killed both people. This was a big dog, big and strong.”