JESSIEVILLE, AR — A five-year-old boy was killed Sunday when he was attacked by a Bullmastiff dog that belonged to a family friend.
It happened at a home of Highway 298 in Jessieville around noon.
“The child was putting on some shoes and was crying and upset,” said Garland County Deputy Scott Hinojosa. “The dog possibly took that as being aggressive and at that time the child was attacked.”
Hinojosa said a 50-year-old woman named Lynnn Geiling owns the dog with her husband. Lynn told police she tried to pull the dog off the boy, but by the time she got them separated the boy had injuries described by deputies as “major lacerations” to the head and neck.
He was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs.
Deputies said the boy and his two-year-old sister are from Moore, Oklahoma. They’d been staying with the family friends for about two weeks while their parents tried to rebuild after their home was destroyed in the recent tornado.
“You can’t imagine, you know, what this family and friends are going through right now,” Hinojosa said.
The dog ran away after the attack, and animal control was still searching for it late Sunday night. It will be euthanized after it’s captured, deputies say.
Investigators are still working to determine whether the dog’s owners will face charges.
It happened at a home of Highway 298 in Jessieville around noon.
“The child was putting on some shoes and was crying and upset,” said Garland County Deputy Scott Hinojosa. “The dog possibly took that as being aggressive and at that time the child was attacked.”
Hinojosa said a 50-year-old woman named Lynnn Geiling owns the dog with her husband. Lynn told police she tried to pull the dog off the boy, but by the time she got them separated the boy had injuries described by deputies as “major lacerations” to the head and neck.
He was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs.
Deputies said the boy and his two-year-old sister are from Moore, Oklahoma. They’d been staying with the family friends for about two weeks while their parents tried to rebuild after their home was destroyed in the recent tornado.
“You can’t imagine, you know, what this family and friends are going through right now,” Hinojosa said.
The dog ran away after the attack, and animal control was still searching for it late Sunday night. It will be euthanized after it’s captured, deputies say.
Investigators are still working to determine whether the dog’s owners will face charges.
