Dogs Maul Phoenix City Worker, Police Describe "Lifeless Body"
911 Tape of Attack ReleasedUPDATE 11/25/08: A Phoenix news station has released the 911 tape of the attack that stripped Carl Corona naked to his shoes and nearly killed him. The caller, at first, believes that Corona is dead. He grows frustrated throughout the call because he cannot help the victim. Police arrive four minutes after the call is placed. They shoot and kill the attacking dogs. The animals are later identified as American bulldogs, who share a common gene pool with pit bulls.
Listen to the 911 CallCAUTION: You will hear the victim screaming and the dogs being shot to death. Our written transcription does not include each word.[caller] There's a
DEAD MAN at the park at 31st Avenue and Belmont.
[operator] Are you sure he is dead?
[caller] Yes.
[caller] There are two dogs trying to wake him up. It looks like he's nude.
[operator] Does anything else look suspicious besides being naked?
[caller] I can't tell. Theses dogs are tearing him up.
[caller] I think he's alive, but we need to get somebody over here right away.
[operator] I'm going to get an officer on the line, do not hang up on me.
[operator] Does he have any clothing on whatsoever?
[caller] No. Just shoes.
[caller] It looks like his clothes are scattered around.
[operator] Does he look like he's "out of it?"
[caller] He's yelling now cause the dogs got his arm all torn up.
[caller]
I don't have my gun or I'd shoot the dogs right now. [caller] They've got his arm shredded.
[caller] GIT! GIT! GIT!
[operator] Do they look like pit bulls?
[caller] Pit bulls, and they've got his arm shredded to the bone.
[operator] Are there people trying to scare the dogs off?
[caller] Yeah, there is a cab driver who is trying to scare the dogs off.
[caller]
Can you hear the guy yelling?[operator] Yes. I can hear him. I have officers rolling.
[operator] Two pit bulls?
[caller] Two pit bulls. And it looks like two females.
[caller]
GIT! GIT! GIT![operator] Are they still on top of him?
[caller] Yeah, and they're tearing him up.
[caller] I mean his arm is shredded to the bone.
[operator] They are driving as fast as they can sir.
[operator] Okay, I am showing that they are arriving at the park.
[caller] Here he comes now.
[operator] Can you wave them down?
[caller]
SHOOT THOSE DOGS!There is a roar of gunfire as officers shoot and kill both dogs.09/30/08: Victim Identified: Carl CoronaThe victim has been identified as Carl Corona, a 12-year employee with the city's street transportation department. He was in the area of Mariposa Park overseeing a project. Authorities now describe the dogs as two American bulldogs. Witness Sam Nasser said, "I thought they were trying to wake him up and it turns out they were stripping his right arm down to the bone."
After police shot the dogs, they said they saw Corona lying on the ground lifeless. "He suffered severe bites to his upper body," said Detective Tony Morales of the Phoenix Police Department. Corona was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. The investigation determined the dogs escaped from a back yard across the street by running through an unlocked gate, officers said.
American bulldogs are sometimes included in the definition of "breeds commonly known as pit bulls" for the purposes of breed-specific law. For example, parts of Ohio deem the following breeds "vicious:" American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog. The City of Omaha recently included the breed as well.09/30/08: Officers Kill Attacking DogsPhoenix, AZ - A police officer shot and killed two dogs as they attacked a city employee in a Phoenix park this morning. A passerby called 9-1-1 as the 42-year-old man was attacked by the pit bulls, according to a fire department spokesman. Officers found the "lifeless body" of the worker being dragged by the dogs at a park near 35th and Northern avenues at about 9:30 a.m.
In the last 33 months, pit bulls were responsible for 83% of fatal attacks that occurred to ages 21-55 years old. We repeat,
83%. Unlike most breeds of dogs, pit bulls target and kill adults in addition to killing the more vulnerable age groups of 0-9 and 55 years and older. A 42-year old man is not safe from an attacking pit bull, particularly when two dogs are involved.
According to police, the dogs, a male and female, were attacking the man's arm. Officers shot and killed both dogs. One witness said the attack was one of the most horrible things he's ever seen. Police said it appeared the dogs escaped from a nearby yard. The victim was taken to John C. Lincoln Hospital in serious condition. Police continue to investigate the attack.
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2008 Fatality: Kelli Chapman Killed by Two Pit Bulls12/30/08:
2007 Fatality: Kelly Caldwell Killed by Loose Pit Bulls in California10/02/07:
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