A 26-day-old baby boy was rushed to a local Lafayette, Indiana hospital after he was mauled by his family’s dog.
According to People, an officer who responded to the 911 call had to shot the pit bull mix in order to get to the infant to perform lifesaving measures on the child. Sadly, by the time the child arrived at the hospital, he was pronounced dead.
The infant has been identified as Julian Connell. As WTHR reports, Julian’s brother is the one who made the 911 call. According to an interview with Lafayette Police Lieutenant Matt Gard, he said that “the two dogs were engaged in some sort of a fight in the bedroom where the infant was staying.”
Teen Brother Calls 911 to Report His Infant Brother, a 26-Day-Old Baby Boy, Was Being Attacked By Family Dog
He continued, “The brother was actually able to separate the beagle away from the pit bull, 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.”
Gard added that the first officer to arrive on the scene “could see that the baby had some pretty severe injuries and he believed the infant needed immediate life-saving aid.” That’s when the officer made the decision to “fire his handgun one time, striking the dog, killing it.”
According to medical examiners, Julian’s death was the result of multiple dog bites to the head and neck area. The infant’s passing has been ruled accidental.
Gard admitted that the tragic attack is affecting a lot of the officers on the force. “A lot of our officers have young children of our own and seeing this is, definitely, tragic incident. It’s one we hope we don’t have to encounter again. Supervision of your children at all times is paramount. You never know, even the most friendly dog could turn. You never know.”
As WTHR reports, where the baby was when his teen brother removed the beagle from the room is unclear. However, police say his mother was home during the attack.