South Carolina boy, 6, mauled to death by abandoned pit bull while his mom was trying to get home for it
BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA: A mother’s kind gesture towards a stray pit bull did not end well as the canine mauled her six-year-old to death. Victoria LaBar found the dog abandoned on her property and was trying to find a home for it. But before she could find it, the animal attacked Cameron Hatfield, lovingly called Jayce, and killed him. The Sun reported that on January 20 police were called to the family’s home, but the kid was dead by the time they arrived.
On January 15, in a Facebook post, the mother had said that she found the pit bull on her property. At the time she wrote, “So I gave the owners an adamant amount of time, at this point I believe they ditched their Dog on purpose. Having spent a week with this sweet boy, I CAN NOT IMAGINE WHY! He needs a loving home, someone who can be more dedicated to the TLC he needs! I will be looking into all offers, as you can never be to careful homing Pitties! He’s great with other dogs, big and small, Children, big and small, AMD MY CAT! He’s amazing! Truly wish I could keep him! I really do not want to take this sweetheart to a shelter! I’ll give the owner a few more days. If anybody would like to take it in, please contact me! 8436941441.”
But after the tragedy, she edited her post and added, “Yes we took in the dog that had been a abandoned by some piece s**t, I tested him for over a week with my small animals. Never left my son alone with him. We had been loving and kind, gave him a bed home and love and he still snapped over a week later. He was doing good, till he just wasn’t. All It took was a second and he ended my boys life. My other dog and husband even tried to get the dog off my boy. Whoever you are the you dropped your trained to kill hunting dog off and thought nothing of the consequences of your action. To all the hunters in and around Brunson, AND Hampton who have to pay dues, somebody recognizes this dog. PLEASE COME FORWARD!”
LaBar also went live on Facebook and said, “My six-year-old little boy was attacked early this afternoon by the pit bull that I had been trying to find a home for. It had been abandoned on our property. I was an advocate for pit bulls and what happened today happened so fast that there was nothing that anyone could do. It doesn't feel real that we will wake up tomorrow and our son won't be here.” Reports said the pit bull was put down and the case is being probed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
A GoFundMe page was also launched after the little boy’s death. The message on the page read, “Cameron Jayce Hatfield unexpectedly passed away Wednesday, January 20th 2021. He was and will always be greatly loved by countless family and friends. There is nothing that can ever explain the loss of a beautiful child at such an early age. Jayce was highly intelligent, funny, and always full of life. On behalf of the family, in the most devastating and humble of circumstances, we have setup this GoFundMe campaign to help ask for any donations whatsoever to help ensure they're able to remember and celebrate Jayce’s life with a memorial and funeral. The funds from this campaign will all directly go towards memorial and funeral expenses, as well as support services for Jayce’s family.”