VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The Volusia sheriff is seeking information from residents after an 8-year-old boy was mauled to death Monday by two dogs that “have been terrorizing the neighborhood for a while.”
The attack happened around 5 p.m. in the area of Arabesque Drive and Airport Road when the boy was riding his bicycle around a subdivision with a friend and he stopped to pet one of the animals, according to Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Chitwood said the boy was “maliciously mauled, brutally mauled and killed.” The two dogs - described as a pit bull and a mixed breed - were then captured by Volusia County Animal Services officers.
“As we went door-to-door last night, we heard horrific stories of how the dogs are always at large, how they destroyed chickens and we’ve gotten some information from another county that it’s possible they were involved in some other type of an incident,” Chitwood said. “... Right now, I need people to come forward and tell us because there’s no 911 calls to Animal Services or to the sheriff’s office about this address or about these animals. Clearly, this just didn’t happen in a vacuum. These dogs have been terrorizing the neighborhood for a while.”
Witnesses called 911 and attempted CPR on the boy, but he did not survive, the sheriff’s office said. Chitwood described the boy’s injuries as “horrific” and said at one point, the boy’s mother got on top of the boy on the ground to try to fend off the dogs.
Angela Miedema, director of Volusia County Animal Services, said based on a significant number of interviews, this was a “regular appearance for these dogs.”
“They have been found to previously run astray, it’s just unfortunate that nobody actually reported it to Animal Services in this circumstance,” she said.
Bodycam video below below shows deputies chase dogs believed to be involved in deadly attack.
Miedama said the owner had not yet signed over permission for euthanasia, but it would be “coming in the near future.” The dogs are in a mandatory 10-day quarantine and the owner has the opportunity to appeal it, she said.
“We’re now awaiting the owner’s response of whether to sign the dogs over or whether we have to go to court and fight over how we’re going to proceed with this,” Chitwood said. “It’s the beginning stages of the investigation. We’re going to do everything humanely possible to hold the owner of these dogs responsible, and we’re going to do everything possible to make sure these animals are destroyed.”
JD Yambao, a resident of the subdivision and frequent runner, told News 6 that just last week, he received a Ring notification about two aggressive dogs loose in the area. The alert warned neighbors that the dogs had killed a cat.
“Shocked, shocked,” Yambao said. “Especially in this neighborhood. We have a lot of kids here, and sometimes when I run, I see them playing around. It’s good to see kids playing, but to hear about this incident… it’s heartbreaking.”
Chitwood said the owner of the dogs was not on the property at the time of the attack.
The sheriff asked anyone with information regarding the two dogs or the owner is asked to contact Animal Services or the sheriff’s office.
When asked whether the owner would face any consequences, the sheriff said his office and Animal Services were working closely with the state attorney’s office.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family. To donate, click here.
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