Dog attack with 1 dead and 2 injured, all living on the same street

The emergency calls came in to 911 when a woman was found unconscious in a West Baltimore alley. Several pit bulls were running around at large.

Will Fortune, 42, lives in the 1900 block of Clifton Street, near Mondawmin Mall. But he was at a friend’s house on the same block when he stepped outside and heard the commotion. Just before 9 p.m., as the sun was setting, he headed out to find out what was going on.

He saw a dog’s bloodied face and knew someone had been attacked. Further down the street, a 54-year-old neighbor, Sheila Jones, had been attacked. Police say she was found dead at the scene.

A moment later, Fortune saw the dog jump on a 67-year-old woman who also lives in a house on the block. He immediately rushed to help.

“I stepped in to help the other neighbor and was then attacked… I kicked the dog in the back of the leg to get the dog’s attention away from him and to get him to come at me. Then the dog tried to go for my neck, but I held out my arm,” Fortune said in an interview.

Fortune said another dog he did not see jumped up and bit him on the back of his other arm. He raised his arms, with both dogs hanging by them, and yelled, “Somebody shoot those damn dogs!”

Baltimore police were called to the 2000 block of North Pulaski Street shortly before 9 p.m. on June 14 about the dog attack, authorities said.

“I hear people screaming, ‘That dog just killed a woman!’ I was scared for my life because I thought they were going to try to kill me now,” Fortune said, adding that police lured the dogs away from him with a Taser before he received medical attention.

The police searched for the dogs in the dark with flashlights.

“They just ran down the alley,” an officer shouted, referring to the 2100 block of Fulton Street, which borders Clifton.

According to police radio recordings, officers surrounded the dogs and fired their weapons at 9:16 p.m. One of the dogs was killed by police, and the other dog was taken into custody by animal control.

Although two dogs were caught, many residents of Clifton – the street where Jones, Fortune and the 67-year-old woman live – say others are still at large.

Jones’ death is “still under investigation by detectives,” Baltimore police said in a statement.

Police said they will continue to work with the Baltimore District Attorney’s Office to prosecute anyone responsible. The 67-year-old victim was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and released.

While dog bites are common, fatal attacks are less common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an average of 43 fatal dog attacks per year nationwide from 2011 to 2021.

The Baltimore City Health Department could not immediately provide statistics on the number of dog attacks that have occurred outside private homes.

A fatal dog attack in Baltimore was last reported in 2013, when a Northeast Baltimore woman was attacked and killed by a pit bull terrier she owned. More recently, in 2023, a 7-year-old boy was also attacked by a dog in West Baltimore. The boy taunted the dog, which then bit him on the arms and legs, according to WJZ. His injuries were not fatal.

After the attack in West Baltimore last week, neighbors expressed concern about pit bulls, but according to the Animal Foundation, it is not a specific breed.

The term is used for mixed breed dogs with muscular bodies and broad heads. They are considered a general type and are mistakenly associated with innate aggressive behavior.

“No breed of dog is inherently more aggressive than another,” says the report from Kennel to Couch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing pit bulls.

Marvin Chetham, president of a nearby neighborhood association, said he believes the dogs belong to someone in the neighborhood. He added that neighbors often walk their dogs on leashes in the neighborhood. He estimates there are about 30 pit bulls in the area.

“These are not stray dogs … they make money off of these dogs,” Cheatham said. “They fight with them and they sell them.”