A 50-year-old grandfather and his three-month-old granddaughter were found dead after a violent attack involving a group of pit bulls inside their home in Tennessee, according to authorities.
Police say officers were forced to shoot seven pit bulls after they allegedly attacked James Alexander Smith and the infant. When officers entered the home, they discovered Smith’s body inside, while the baby was still being mauled by the family’s dogs. She died before officers could reach her.
Neighbor Rebecca Adams recalled hearing the newborn’s devastated mother screaming “my baby” as law enforcement broke into the home to try to rescue the victims.
Adams said the dogs frequently escaped from the yard and caused fear in the neighborhood.
“They’d run after cats, they’d run after dogs, you know, animal things,” she told WSMV. “I could see them be aggressive towards animals. Never did I think they would do that to the kids.”
Investigators are now working to determine whether Smith and his granddaughter were killed solely by the dog attack or if they were already dead beforehand.
Attorney General Craig Northcott described the situation as deeply distressing, saying: “This was an especially difficult and brutal scene. Please pray for the family of the victims in this difficult time as well as the first responders, as they cope with the trauma from what they witnessed.”
Officials said the surviving dogs were taken into custody by Tullahoma Animal Control, and it has not yet been decided whether criminal charges will be filed.
The tragedy follows a similar recent incident in Texas, where 23-year-old Madison Riley Hull was killed in a backyard after being attacked by several pit bulls she was pet-sitting.
When police arrived at the home in Tyler, they found Hull lying in the backyard. As one officer tried to help her, the dogs turned on him, according to WTOC-11.
Hull’s mother, Jennifer Hubbell, said she was overcome with grief upon learning of her daughter’s death.
“I just dropped to my knees,” she said. “I am shattered in a way I didn’t know a human being could break.”
Hull was remembered as someone full of “love, light, kindness and laughter.” Her mother said she “loved life with her whole heart and moved through the world with a free spirit that lifted and guided her.”
