A pack of pit bulls mauled a 1-year-old boy to death in Texas after the babysitter watching him left him alone with her teenage daughter, the New York Post reported.
Babysitter Heather Rodriguez, 36, allegedly left baby Jiryiah Johnson alone with her 13-year-old daughter and three dogs at her home in Converse, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
One of the pit bulls broke through a bedroom door and began tearing at the child as the teen girl tried to shield him, and then the two other dogs joined the attack, News4SA reported.
“The 13-year-old was able to maintain control of the baby, but at this point, it was being described to me as almost a tug-of-war for the baby between at least one of the dogs and the little girl,” Salazar said.
The teen girl tried to hide with the baby in the bathroom, but the dogs busted into that room as well, according to the report. The teen escaped to another bedroom and grabbed her phone to call police. She barricaded the door with her body until first responders arrived on scene. Photos of the incident show how the dogs ripped off chunks of the door.
The teen girl suffered several bite wounds, according to the report.
“I’ve got to be honest, the 13-year-old in this instance is absolutely — I’m considering her a hero,” Salazar said.
Baby Jiryiah was bitten on the neck and face. First responders rushed the child to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. In an update on Tuesday, Salazar said the baby ultimately died of his injuries at 9:30 p.m. on Monday at the University Hospital of San Antonio.
Rodriguez was subsequently arrested and is facing charges for injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission, which is a first-degree felony. She was booked into the Bexar County Jail. Rodriguez could face more charges for her daughter’s injuries, officials said.
Authorities seized the three pit bills, although Rodriguez allegedly asked them not to take her dogs.
“For her to be more concerned with the dogs that have proven to be involved in the attack, she is more concerned about keeping them from us? That is cause for concern. It will definitely be taken into consideration when we decide what to do with this (woman) moving forward,” Salazar said.
Rodriguez had previously been cited by police for having her dogs unleashed after they trapped someone in a car, according to the report. Authorities allowed her to keep her dogs after that incident.