Baby boy mauled to death by family dog in Brooklyn
The child's father reportedly left his kids home alone while he went to work
A 19-month-old baby boy was mauled to death by the family Rottweiler, and it is unclear why the dog turned aggressive and attacked.
The victim, Ryan Francis Foster, was reportedly home in Brooklyn, New York with older brothers, ages 9 and 11, when the tragedy occurred Tuesday night. After the attack, the siblings took the boy outside to look for help, WABC reports.
The boys’ father, Vernon Foster, reportedly left the kids home alone while he went to work. The other children were not injured during the attack. The mother does not live at the apartment on E. 17th St. and left the children in the care of their father.
“Two other siblings are screaming for help, like, ‘Help me! Help me! My brother is dying!” one witness said, per the report.
Officers responded to the family’s apartment and the boy was rushed to Maimonides Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“When the officers arrived here, they went to an apartment on the first floor. They encountered a child with multiple wounds to his body, bleeding heavily,” Commanding Officer Michael Kemper said.
The Rottweiler reportedly attacked one of Ryan’s older brothers two years ago. After Tuesday’s attack, the dog was removed from the home.
The child’s mother shared her pain with the media outlet.
“He was my miracle baby,” said Ryan’s mother, Susan Hire. “Pregnancy was so complicated that I never thought I would ever have a child again.”
“He was a very adorable kid,” she said. “He didn’t give me any problems. I always joked and said he was my golden kid.”
Hire spoke to her children on a video call the night before the deadly attack.
“The fact that he was here, he was so perfect and was taken away from me this way, I just feel very numb,” Hire said. “I don’t know what to do now.”
Even the police were moved by the tragedy.
“It’s a terrible situation,” Chief Kemper told CBS2. “Terrible situation for them and certainly for the family that is affected by this tragedy.”
But some neighbors were disgusted by what they perceived as the family’s negligence.
“Baby is not supposed to be home by itself. I know it’s hard times, it’s pandemic times. We try to make ends meet … ya gotta work,” a neighbor said.
“To hear that somebody just left children in the house with a dog, it’s unbelievable,” added Flatbush resident Charles Pulliam.
The father was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and acting in a manner injurious to a child, according to police.
The fatal mauling is the latest involving a child this year.
A New Jersey family suffered a devastating tragedy in June after a three-year-old boy fell from a window at his home and was then mauled by dogs in the backyard, theGrio previously reported.
The Elizabeth Police Department said the unnamed boy fell through the window screen of the South 5th Street Elizabeth home. He was attacked by the family’s dogs that were in the fenced yard. The child suffered severe injuries and was rushed to the Trinitas Regional Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, PEOPLE reported.
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