NORTH CAROLINA -- No charges will be filed against the owner of two pit bulls who attacked a toddler in Greensboro, according to officials with Guilford County Animal Services.
Police say a 19-month-old boy remains in serious condition after he was attacked by the dogs in his own backyard Tuesday morning.
The victim is expected to make a full recovery.
According to Drew Brinkley with Guilford County Animal Control Services, there were no prior reports of attacks or aggression from the dogs involved in Tuesday’s attack of a 19-month-old boy.
Investigators also weren’t able to determine an official cause of the attack.
Brinkley says no charges will be filed unless investigators receive new information that proves illegal activity occurred.
Around 9:10 a.m., Greensboro Police arrived at a home on Valley View Street and found two dogs lying beside the toddler. One of the dogs was shot by a Greensboro Police Officer for the child's safety. The other dog escaped until animal control officers tracked him down in a shed behind the house.
The dog was then transported to the Guilford County Animal Shelter where it was later put down.
GPD says the dogs belonged to the next door neighbor. Neighbors and police tried to get the dogs off the toddler, but were unsuccessful.
Neighbors Ronald Knight and Latisha Bullard witnessed the attack from their back porch.
"I was telling the dog to move away and he just looked at me like 'I ain't going nowhere,'" said Knight. "We were throwing onions at the dog and the dog wouldn't leave the baby alone."
Knight and Bullard said they tried yelling and throwing things at the dogs -- but they say it didn't stop them from attacking the baby.
"We were trying everything we could to stop the dog from biting the baby," said Knight. "But it just seems like we couldn't do anything until the police got here."
Michael Usey, the Pastor at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, says the little boy's family came here as refugees from Syria 7 months ago. He says the church has been helping them for the past couple months.
Usey has been with the family all day at Brenner Children's hospital and says the child suffered serious injuries.
When police got to the scene, they found the baby badly injured and the dogs were still lying beside him.
Officers approached slowly until the dogs backed away -- that's when one of the dogs was shot.
The victim was taken to Brenner Children's Hospital where he's in serious condition but his injuries are not life-threatening.
The family's landlord, Irene Agapion, says the father of the toddler is receiving hospital treatment as well.
Agapion says the father suffers from a heart condition and collapsed while tending to his injured son.
The victim's family speaks Arabic and doesn't speak English -- so police brought in a translator to assist with the investigation.
Detectives with the Greensboro Police Department are investigating both inside and outside the house.
Officials expect rabies test results to be returned Thursday afternoon.
(WFMY News2 - Feb 14, 2017)
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