Officer Mike Chitwood of Volusia County gave more information about the dog attack that killed an 8-year-old boy at a meeting on Tuesday.
He said that the boy, whose name was Michael Millett, was riding his bike around the neighborhood with his friends when they stopped at the mailboxes near the front door of the subdivision to pet the dogs that were running free.
That’s when Michael was “brutally mauled and killed,” according to Chitwood. The sheriff said there were no signs that the dogs were going to attack.
“And then, like a light switch went off, then they went right into attack mode,” he said.
Police say the mother of the child jumped on top of her son to protect him from the attack.
“In all the years I’ve been a police officer, I can guarantee that if you listen to that 911 call, you will hear Michael’s mother screaming “Help me!” as she jumped on top of him to stop the attack. “When someone says, ‘He’s not breathing,’ it cuts to the core of who we are as people,” Chitwood said.
There were 12 bite marks on Michael, and his neck and leg were broken. Chitwood called his injuries “horrific.”
The man said, “He never had a chance.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for the funeral and other bills while they grieve together. They also plan to take some time off work to do this.
What we know: Deputies say the attack happened just before 5 p.m. on January 13 in an area north of DeLand, near Arabesque Drive and Airport Road. People who saw what happened called 911 and tried CPR on the child, but he died at the scene of the crime.
Volusia County Animal Services and deputies reacted and caught two of the dogs that were attacking. One was called a pit bull, and the other was called a mixed breed. Both animals have been taken away and put in a quarantine area.
Who is the dog’s owner?
The police said the dogs’ owner is a 31-year-old woman. The sheriff says she has a long past of crimes, most of which involve drugs. FOX 35 News is not going to name the woman because she has not been charged.
Next step: The two dogs have been caught. A joint study is currently going on to find out what happened with the attack.
“We’re waiting for the owner to tell us if they want to sign over the dogs or if we need to go to court and fight over how to handle this.” “So this is the start of an investigation,” the sheriff said.
Chitwood made it clear that the woman would be responsible.
“We are going to do everything humanly possible to hold the owner of these dogs responsible,” he said. “And we’re going to do everything possible to make sure that these animals are destroyed.”
Did the dogs have a past of being mean?
When police officers went door-to-door after the event, neighbors told them “horrific stories” about how the dogs are often free and have killed chickens.
The dogs may have also been involved in an event in another county, which was found by officials.
He said that the sheriff’s office is looking into that claim.
Officials said that animal services were never told about the dogs.
“As animal services, it is our job to look into all reports of stray animals or animals that are being aggressive in the community,” said Angela Miedema, director of Volusia County Animal Services. “We strongly encourage anybody who is observing an animal that is stray, or observing a nuisance animal or aggressive animal to report it to us or your respective jurisdiction.”
Leave a Comment