Pit bull attack leaves 4 injured in Middlesboro

From WRIL -

On Wednesday afternoon November 4, 2020 at 3:33pm Middlesboro Police Officer Caleb Ayers responded to a vicious dog complaint at Yoakum Apartments.

Upon arrival at the apartment complex, Officer Ayers exited his vehicle and heard a female child screaming and crying. The officer ran to the child and saw her trying to get a brown pit bull back inside an apartment. The child told the officer: “my dog is biting people.”

A woman then stepped out of the residence in an attempt to assist the officer in rounding up the animal. A man then walked up to the scene to offer assistance, and the dog turned and lunged at him. Officer Ayers then deployed his pepper spray, but was unsuccessful in stopping the animal.

Officer Ryan Collins arrived on scene advising he made contact with those injured in the attack by the dog and he had notified Middlesboro EMS. Four victims were reported in the incident, two of which were taken by EMS to the hospital while the other two went to the emergency room on their own.

A witness to the incident pulled up in her Jeep and exited the vehicle when the dog began to chase her. She ran to get away from the animal climbing on top of her vehicle. Officer Ayers was able to get the dog away from the woman’s vehicle back into a stretch of grass in the complex when Lt. Floyd Patterson arrived on scene. After the Lt. Patterson was warned by Officer Ayers as to the danger of the dog, Ayers was advised to put the animal down which he did by shooting it.

Bell County Animal Shelter arrived on scene a short time later to collect the body of the animal to be tested for rabies.

The owner of the animal Ms. Jami Burch (Goins), who lives in the complex, was cited for a violation of a city ordinance for dogs running at large.