“It was a violent attack”, he said.
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It could be the first known fatal attack by a pit bull on Long Island. “The two [other] little girls ran down the street, screaming, ‘Help!”
The New York Daily News says police have not released the identity of the girl, who had been playing the in backyard of the home with two friends when the attack occurred at about 10:30 a.m.
“We don’t know why the pit bull attacked her, and we’re questioning everybody involved”, Nassau County Detective Michael Bitsko said at a press conference at the scene. One of the officers entered the yard by going through the house. And the doctor up the block was trying to help, too. The officer fired, killing the dog, giving the other officers time to get to the girl.
The girl’s mother tried to pull the dog off, but couldn’t save her daughter. “When the ambulance came, they put her on the stretcher and put a mask over her face….”
The child was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries. The television station, citing witnesses, said it “shook her like a rag doll”.
As a third cop ran toward the girl from inside the house, the dog let go of her and charged the officer, police said.
The owner of the dog, Carlyle Arnold, 29, of Elmont was arrested at the scene for an unrelated charge of violating an order of protection.
“I took my broom and tried to push it away”, said the neighbor who tried to intervene in the bloody scene.
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Upon learning of the girl’s death, Jett said, “Oh my God, oh my God” and held his head in his hands.
