A grandfather and his 3-month-old granddaughter were discovered dead at their home in Tennessee, victims of an attack by a group of pit bulls that had been known to cause trouble in the area.
The body of James Alexander Smith, 50, was found in the residence in Tullahoma on Wednesday afternoon. Tragically, the baby was still being mauled by seven dogs when the police arrived, and they had to shoot the dogs to access the scene.
When officials got there, sadly, the toddler was already deceased.
Authorities are currently investigating whether the pair was killed by the dogs or if they had died beforehand.
“This was a particularly difficult and brutal scene,” said Attorney General Craig Northcott in a statement.
“Please pray for the victims’ families and for our first responders who have to cope with the trauma of what they saw,” he added.
A neighbor, Brian Kirby, who had recently lost his own cat to the same pack of dogs, returned home to find the infant’s mother in a state of distress just before the police arrived.
When he tried to offer assistance, she fled back into her home. Kirby noted that she had previously seen the dogs attacking other animals in the neighborhood, but he never thought they would pose a threat to humans.
“I don’t think any of us ever thought something like this could happen,” a neighbor reflected.
“I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. People just need to take better care of their pets. I can’t blame them; they must be more devastated than we are. It’s their family after all,” he continued.
Another neighbor, Rebecca Adams, mentioned that the dogs often escaped from their yard and went after other animals. She recounted the heart-wrenching moment when the baby’s mother cried out, “My baby!” as emergency responders arrived.
Adams described the dogs as being aggressive towards pets: “They chased cats, they chased dogs. I never imagined they would turn on children.”
The dogs that survived were taken into custody by Tullahoma Animal Control. Authorities are also examining whether the history of attacks involving the dogs and past issues related to children and Children’s Services played a role in this tragedy, according to the AG.
The home was condemned due to its poor condition, as stated in a GoFundMe created for the family.
No decisions have yet been made regarding possible criminal charges.
