9 year old Detroit girl, Emma Valentina Hernandez mauled to death by pack of three pit bull mix dogs while riding her bike.
A 9-year-old Detroit girl has been mauled to death by a pack of dogs while riding her bike, Monday afternoon.
Emma Valentina Hernandez was attacked around 4 p.m. as she rode alongside with her brother in an alley on the west side of Detroit, WWJ reported.
‘There’s no words. I feel so empty. I don’t know what to do,’ the children’s father, Armando Hernandez said. ‘I’m really heartbroken right now.’
Her father said he previously warned the dog’s owner that his fence wasn’t stable enough to hold the animals.
The trio of dogs, believed to pit bulls or pit bull mixes, escaped from the yard and went after the young girl, WWJ reported.
Upon hearing screams, neighbors attempted to stop the dog pack from attacking the child, the Detriot News reported.
‘They were not stopping,’ said neighbor Edward Cruz, who threw a brick at the dogs. ‘I had to step in.’
At least one of the good Samaritans shot and killed one of the dogs in the attack, the Detroit News reported.
The girl, who suffered severe injuries to her throat, was brought to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.
##Detroit dog owner (previously warned) charged w/ murder in fatal mauling of 9 year old girl
‘The dogs stayed there loose, wild, and the guy didn’t feed them.’
Told local woman, Deborah Golden, ‘I seen the little girl flat in her back with the bite marks and part of her neck hanging off.’
‘I started CPR and I had the dad grab the neck and hold it,’ Golden added.
‘I tried my best. I tried CPR, I tried helping her. I couldn’t do it. I did everything I could in my power to just — she was gone. She was gone when I reached her,’ her father told WWJ.
Her father said that in November 2017, police were called and logged a complaint about the dogs, ‘but they didn’t follow up on it.’ the father said via WWJ. ‘The dogs stayed there loose, wild, and the guy didn’t feed them. The poor dogs, you know, I don’t blame them.’
The dogs’ owner, a 33-year-old man, was taken into custody Monday in connection with the animal attack. It remains unclear what charges- if any – the man now faces.
A GoFundme page funding funeral costs had by Tuesday 6pm, EST, raised $32,351 of a $25,000 goal.
