A North Carolina infant died soon after she was attacked by two family dogs in Johnston County. The attack took place when her father briefly stepped away.
According to Johnston County Sheriff's Office Captain Danny Johnson, deputies responded to the house on Riparian Court in Willow Spring regarding a call about an unresponsive child. When deputies reached the house, they started CPR on the infant, but were unsuccessful. Later, EMS took over and again tried CPR, but the baby remained unresponsive. The girl was soon declared dead.
Johnson said that a probe determined the father, Scott Winberry, had left the child unattended inside the home for a brief period to move a sprinkler in the yard. The father, who is a law enforcement officer, heard a commotion and when he went inside the house, the child had been attacked by the rottweilers.
A neighbor told ABC11 on Wednesday that one dog is male and the other is female. She said that they were usually protective of the girl. "It's a bad scene anytime that a young child like that passes. It's very hard on us all," Johnson said. He said that the pets were taken by animal control.
Local statute said that it's upto the family whether they want to bring the dogs back home or have them euthanized. Authorities said that they were not aware of any prior issues with the animals, and no other children were in the house.
Johnston County Animal Services director Chad Massengill said that the dogs have been deemed dangerous by the county. "It's very solemn around here. It's very difficult to deal with," said Massengill.
Investigators called the baby's death "a tragic accident." "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scott Winberry and Bianca Patel for the tragic loss of their 10-month-old daughter, Malia Scott Winberry," said Captain Jeff Caldwell with JCSO, reported WRAL.
Within 48 hours of the incident, an online memorial fund had raised over $10,000 to help the family with expenses.
A spokeswoman for Johnston County Emergency Services, where Patel currently works, said that they were "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Malia," and was "offering support services to the family."
