Baseball Bat Stops Pit Bull Attack in Gary

Boy Blames Self in Pit Bull Attack
UPDATE 07/16/08: Ten-year-old Cornell Roberson, who lost a chunk of his leg when his cousin's pit bull attacked him, said the attack was his fault for going into his cousin's home. Police think Roberson and another youth climbed into the dog owner's home through a window. Then, according to police, the dog somehow got out of the house. And when the boys left the house, they were attacked.

The theory seems incomplete...

Sterling Bennett, 27, the owner of Khadaffi, was cited for failing to have a license and failing to constrain the dog. He has also been required to show proof of rabies vaccination and insurance to avoid criminal charges.

07/15/08: 10-Year Old Hospitalized
Gary, IN - A 10-year-old boy is being treated for serious dog bites at The Methodist Hospital after an attack from a pit bull on Monday afternoon. Andre Perry was grilling steaks in his back yard when he heard people yelling about a pit bull loose on the block. The male dog had already ripped the pants and shirt off one boy. Perry told the three boys to get on the roof of the car while he grabbed a bat.

Witness Marie Butts immediately called police and told them a pit bull was loose. She said a 10-year-old boy hopped off the car to run away, but the dog locked its jaws around his ankle in front of the house. Butts, who is six months pregnant, made a run for her bedroom. The boy got loose from the dog and ran in after her. They shut the bedroom door before the dog got inside.

Perry said he took a bat and struck the dog in the head. "I was worried about my wife, those boys and my dogs," Perry said. "I had no choice. I had to do something." The boy was taken to the hospital, and Animal Control grabbed the dog. Perry said the dog belonged to a neighbor. He said a female pit bull used to get loose in his back yard often, but she would never bite anyone.

We advise Perry to hang on to that bat.

Related articles:
05/29/08: Youngstown Boy is Home from the Hospital
04/19/08: Pit Bulls Jumping Fences, Attacking Neighborhood Dogs

Labels: baseball bat