Courtney Williams, Quitman, Georgia mom mauled to death by pack of dogs trying to save her 3 kids in front of the family home. Fatal dog attack comes amid ongoing complaints over dogs.
A Georgia mother of 3 was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in front of the family home as she tried to save her children as the animals suddenly lunged as the trio made their way home from school late last week.
Courtney Williams, 35 and her three children were attacked by the pack of dogs in front of the family home in Quitman, a small city near the Florida-Georgia state line about 55 miles northwest of Tallahassee.
The attack according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, took place Thursday late afternoon in the family’s Brooks County driveway moments after the children alighting from a bus stop as they made their way home from school, WALB reported.
Hero brother and Good Samaritan
Officials did not say what breed of dogs were involved in the attack.
‘When deputies arrived, they encountered several aggressive dogs on the property,’ the GBI wrote in a news release. ‘It was determined that an individual had already taken several minors to a local hospital.’
Of note, the fatal dog attack comes off the back of multiple complaints having been filed over the county’s lack of an animal control department.
Williams’ sister-in-law, Crystal Cox told USA TODAY the dogs belonged to a neighbor living behind the Williams family who had been the subject of ongoing complaints. The victim was described as a stay at home mom − who lived with three of her children and her husband.
Cox said about a dozen dogs went after Williams’ three children − a 10-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy − after they got off the school bus.
Lack of animal control
The 12-year-old boy pushed his sister out of harm’s way, Cox said, the children’s mother rushed out to help, and the 14-year-old ran for help and flagged down a man driving by.
The man, Cox said, got out and intervened with the dogs, saving the siblings’ lives.
Their mother did not survive.
‘No one was able to get to her because of the dogs,” Cox said. “We are just glad the kids didn’t see her,’ Cox told USA Today.
The middle child, 12-year-old boy, suffered serious injuries in the attack, according to Cox, but his siblings were not physically injured.
‘He was hurt pretty bad,’ Cox wrote on Facebook in a post. ‘They stapled him up. He is in pain and at my house resting.’
Cox described her sister-in-law as an amazing mother who always put family first.
Posted Brooks County Animal Advocates, a rescue organization describing itself as on a ‘mission to establish a county animal shelter that will benefit our community tremendously.’
‘It is an absolute shame, now more than ever, that Brooks County Georgia does not have any type of animal control.
‘This residence in particular has been on Brooks County and the [Quitman] animal shelter’s radar for quite some time.
‘Many community members have notified the county and city shelter, several times, about the dogs at this residence, with no effort [made by the authorities] to fix the problem.’
An autopsy will be performed by the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office to determine William’s cause and manner of death, officials said.
Officials have not said whether any of the dogs involved were euthanized.
This case remained open on Monday.
Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI.
