Indiana newborn mauled to death after getting caught in fight between family's pet dogs while parents were away
LAFAYETTE, INDIANA: A family has been left devastated after a 26-day-old baby was attacked and killed by a dog at their Indiana home this past week.
The horrific incident came to light after deputies from the Lafayette Police Department responded to a home in the 1900 Block of Greenbush Street near Market Square just after 11:30 am following a 911 call from the victim's brother, according to WTHR.
When the first officer arrived at the residence, he found the family's pit-mix dog standing over a severely-injured infant who needed immediate treatment. He had no choice but to shoot the dog to get to the infant.
"He could see that the baby had some pretty severe injuries and he believed the infant needed immediate lifesaving aid," said Lafayette Police Lt. Matt Gard. "Unfortunately, in order to render aid to the infant, the officer did fire his handgun one time, striking the dog, killing it."
The infant was rushed to the hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medical professionals, he could not be saved and was pronounced dead.
The Tippecanoe County coroner revealed that a preliminary autopsy showed the baby had died from multiple sharp force injuries to the head and neck from dog bites. The death was ruled accidental.
Police said the infant had unfortunately been caught in between when his family's pit bull mix and beagle mix dogs had started fighting. They said the brother had managed to separate the fighting dogs but had been unable to prevent the pit bull mix from attacking the infant.
"The two dogs were engaged in some sort of a fight in the bedroom where the infant was staying," Gard said. "The brother was actually able to separate the beagle away from the pitbull, take it out of the room and when he returned, he found that the pit bull had attacked the infant. The infant did suffer some catastrophic injuries."
The death has darkened the mood across the force in the LPD, with Gard stressing that young children such as the victim be under supervision at all times.
"A lot of our officers have young children of our own and seeing this is definitely tragic incident," Gard said. "It's one we hope we don't have to encounter again," Gard said. "Supervision of your children at all times is paramount. You never know, even the most friendly dog could turn. You never know."