Teh One Who Knocks
05-29-2011, 11:05 AM
By AL BAKER and TIM STELLOH - The New York Times
A 4-year-old boy was mauled to death by a family dog as he and his two brothers played in a bedroom of their apartment in Brooklyn, the authorities said on Saturday.
The boy, Jayelin Graham, suffered “multiple bite wounds” on his head, his neck and other parts of his body, said a law enforcement official.
The attack occurred about 9:20 p.m. Friday in the family’s first-floor apartment, at 2169 Pacific Street, in Brownsville, the police said. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office and the city’s health department were investigating.
Detectives and a spokesman for Animal Care and Control of New York City could not say what caused the dog, a male Cane Corso who is 7 or 8 years old, to attack.
The boy’s mother, Saquina Jubeark, told investigators the attack occurred after she and her children had returned home from a shopping trip. Jayelin and two of his brothers, ages 2 and 5, had gone into a bedroom.
Ms. Jubeark, who had her 10-month-old daughter in her arms, realized she had left keys in a stroller in the hallway and went to get them. At some point, the law enforcement official said, she noticed it was very quiet and “opened the bedroom door and noticed the dog standing over Jayelin and biting him.”
The other children were hiding by the bed.
Ms. Jubeark tried to pull the dog off, but “the dog resists and turns on her a little,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
A neighbor, hearing Ms. Jubeark’s screams, called 911. Jayelin was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the police said.
Emergency workers arrived quickly, said Kenneth Risher, the superintendent of the three-story building, but he added it took them about 20 minutes to remove the boy from the apartment.
Officers from the police’s Emergency Service Unit tranquilized the Cane Corso, a mastiff variety. Both the Cane Corso and a second dog, a Husky mixed breed, were taken to a shelter on 110th Street, off First Avenue, on Saturday, said Richard P. Gentles, the spokesman for the animal care agency.
“This was a tragedy waiting to happen,” Mr. Risher, 50, said. He said the boy’s family had lived in the apartment for three years and had several other pets, including dogs, a parrot, turtles and fish. He said Ms. Jubeark had run from her apartment screaming. “She was saying: ‘Help me! Help me! The dog bit my baby!’ ”
Another neighbor, who provided only his first name, Jah, said he had run into Ms. Jubeark’s apartment, where he saw the dog holding the boy by the throat. Jah said he yelled at the dog, but it crouched down as if it were going to attack, so he retreated. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, the child was lying on the floor.
“The right part of his neck was ripped open,” Jah, 29, said. “There was blood all the way from his neck to his abdomen.”
Michael Dorkings, a Fire Department lieutenant from Engine 227, said his men used a Halligan bar and another tool to force the dog back while Firefighter David Kelly grabbed the boy.
Ameer Jamaal-Uddin, 59, Jayelin’s great-grandfather, said the dogs belonged to Ms. Jubeark’s boyfriend. Mr. Risher said the boyfriend was often seen with a protective guard on his arm, training the dogs to bite in front of the building. “Everybody would run when he came out,” Mr. Risher said.
He said one of the dogs killed the family’s pet rabbit a few months ago. “He killed the rabbit and left everything on the floor,” he said. “It was like the Bronx Zoo in there.”
A law enforcement official said someone from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services had gone to the home for “something minor” in the past, but “nothing involving the dog.” Elysia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the agency, declined to say whether it had a history with the family, but said the agency was “investigating the child’s death.”
Jah said that when police officers arrived, a friend of his told them the dog had to be killed. When Jah’s friend took a step toward the officers, a scuffle ensued. The police said several people were issued summonses.
A 4-year-old boy was mauled to death by a family dog as he and his two brothers played in a bedroom of their apartment in Brooklyn, the authorities said on Saturday.
The boy, Jayelin Graham, suffered “multiple bite wounds” on his head, his neck and other parts of his body, said a law enforcement official.
The attack occurred about 9:20 p.m. Friday in the family’s first-floor apartment, at 2169 Pacific Street, in Brownsville, the police said. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office and the city’s health department were investigating.
Detectives and a spokesman for Animal Care and Control of New York City could not say what caused the dog, a male Cane Corso who is 7 or 8 years old, to attack.
The boy’s mother, Saquina Jubeark, told investigators the attack occurred after she and her children had returned home from a shopping trip. Jayelin and two of his brothers, ages 2 and 5, had gone into a bedroom.
Ms. Jubeark, who had her 10-month-old daughter in her arms, realized she had left keys in a stroller in the hallway and went to get them. At some point, the law enforcement official said, she noticed it was very quiet and “opened the bedroom door and noticed the dog standing over Jayelin and biting him.”
The other children were hiding by the bed.
Ms. Jubeark tried to pull the dog off, but “the dog resists and turns on her a little,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
A neighbor, hearing Ms. Jubeark’s screams, called 911. Jayelin was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the police said.
Emergency workers arrived quickly, said Kenneth Risher, the superintendent of the three-story building, but he added it took them about 20 minutes to remove the boy from the apartment.
Officers from the police’s Emergency Service Unit tranquilized the Cane Corso, a mastiff variety. Both the Cane Corso and a second dog, a Husky mixed breed, were taken to a shelter on 110th Street, off First Avenue, on Saturday, said Richard P. Gentles, the spokesman for the animal care agency.
“This was a tragedy waiting to happen,” Mr. Risher, 50, said. He said the boy’s family had lived in the apartment for three years and had several other pets, including dogs, a parrot, turtles and fish. He said Ms. Jubeark had run from her apartment screaming. “She was saying: ‘Help me! Help me! The dog bit my baby!’ ”
Another neighbor, who provided only his first name, Jah, said he had run into Ms. Jubeark’s apartment, where he saw the dog holding the boy by the throat. Jah said he yelled at the dog, but it crouched down as if it were going to attack, so he retreated. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, the child was lying on the floor.
“The right part of his neck was ripped open,” Jah, 29, said. “There was blood all the way from his neck to his abdomen.”
Michael Dorkings, a Fire Department lieutenant from Engine 227, said his men used a Halligan bar and another tool to force the dog back while Firefighter David Kelly grabbed the boy.
Ameer Jamaal-Uddin, 59, Jayelin’s great-grandfather, said the dogs belonged to Ms. Jubeark’s boyfriend. Mr. Risher said the boyfriend was often seen with a protective guard on his arm, training the dogs to bite in front of the building. “Everybody would run when he came out,” Mr. Risher said.
He said one of the dogs killed the family’s pet rabbit a few months ago. “He killed the rabbit and left everything on the floor,” he said. “It was like the Bronx Zoo in there.”
A law enforcement official said someone from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services had gone to the home for “something minor” in the past, but “nothing involving the dog.” Elysia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the agency, declined to say whether it had a history with the family, but said the agency was “investigating the child’s death.”
Jah said that when police officers arrived, a friend of his told them the dog had to be killed. When Jah’s friend took a step toward the officers, a scuffle ensued. The police said several people were issued summonses.