Who was Aziz Ahmed? New Jersey boy, 3, mauled to death by neighbor's pet pit bulls, mother's condition critical
CARTERET, NEW JERSEY: In a horrific, heartbreaking incident, a three-year-old child was attacked and killed by two pit bulls. The tragic accident unfolded around 4.30 pm in Carteret, New Jersey, on Tuesday, March 16, when the two dogs escaped from a neighboring home and attacked the toddler and his mother.
The mother and son were airlifted to a hospital where the boy succumbed to his injuries hours later. While the boy lost his life, his mother's condition critical.
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What had happened that day?
Neighbors said that the young boy had been playing in the backyard of his family's home on East Laurel Street when the two pit bulls, who lived in a home on the other side of their house, attacked. They had somehow managed to squeeze beneath a fence separating the two properties.
Jeet Devinder, a witness, said that he could hear the mother desperately calling out for help but nobody came to call off the dogs. Officials said that the mother and the boy had suffered "severe injuries" by the time first responders arrived on the scene. Aerial footage captured by television news showed paramedics performing chest compressions on the toddler as he was being taken on a gurney to be transported to a hospital in a medical helicopter.
Dogs had been a menace for a while
According to reports, neighbors say that the dogs had been a menace for some time. "Those pit bulls bit people all in this area," one neighbor told ABC7. "I'm aware of certain houses, so I try to walk a different path when I know that they're on that block."
According to the latest reports, both of the dogs were reportedly shot dead by police at the scene of the attack. Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman said in a statement that records from the Board of Health reveal that the dogs were not registered with the town, as required by law. However, it is unclear whether their owner will face any criminal charges. "As a small community, our Carteret family mourns the heart-wrenching loss of our young neighbor," he reportedly said. "We pray for this young mother and family in this time of unimaginable grief."
Neither of the victims has been named by authorities, but a GoFundMe page identified the boy as Aziz Ahmed.
Who was Aziz Ahmed?
The father, whose name is reported to be Tanveer Ahmed, had only recently moved to the neighborhood from Brooklyn with his wife and their three children. Jack Beyda, a longtime co-worker of the deceased boy's father, said, "I worked with him for over 12 years. They are from Pakistan originally and he's a great family guy. He has three little boys," he said of the boy's father. "He's very, very hardworking. He worked very hard to provide for his family and he saved up enough money to move out here from Brooklyn; he saved up enough to buy this little house."
During the interview, he broke down into tears. Beyda said that the boy's father works for Coney Island Auto Parts and is stationed at their Carteret warehouse. "I went around to all our clients this morning and people have been giving money to pay for the funeral," he said, adding, "One guy gave me $200."
A GoFundMe page has been launched by Coney Island Auto Parts, seeking to raise $250,000 for the family. "The young mother fought with all she had to save her little boy despite her efforts to save her son his injuries were to severe even with the help of first responders little Aziz be came an angel," a post on the fundraiser reads. "As for Aziz's mother she is still fighting for her life and will never full recover form the scars she now has to live with."
The post on the fundraiser continues: "I never had the honor of meeting little Aziz but I do know his father Tanveer who is a hardworking man and just recently moved his family from Brooklyn NY to New Jersey for a better life. Tanveer is loved by his co-workers and truly an asset to the company. We calling upon the kindness of family, friends and strangers to help the Ahmed family in this this difficult time." At the time of writing this article, the page had collected $16,744.