It happened around 4 o'clock at a home in the 300 block of Center Street.
"What a family member advised me was she had just adopted the dog from one of our local shelters on Thursday," said Weirton Police Sgt. Steve Falbo. "She had brought it home, she was unfamiliar with the animal and for some unknown reason the animal turned on the child."
That child was a 5-year-old boy, the pit bull was also five. Police say the boy was gone by the time they arrived -- taken to a Pittsburgh area hospital, the majority of one ear gone.
"What was its demeanor like by the time you had gotten on scene?" asked NEWS9's Ryan Eldredge.
"It was aggressive," said Falbo. "It was aggressive. It didn't want us around it at all."
Falbo said the dog did run away from the scene. But they cornered it quickly in Marland Heights, where they were finally able to get it under control.
"Brooke County told me the dog will be put down and they'll send it off for testing," said Falbo. "So we'll know that the child won't have to endure rabies treatment."
Officials say there is no investigation and there will be no charges. Police and the Brooke County prosecutor agreed that this is just an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to a terrible accident.
The boy is expected to be OK.
(WTOV - April 12, 2013)
