Officers kill dog who attacked 7-year-old girl in Brooklyn Park, police say
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — An investigation is underway in Brooklyn Park after a dog attacked a young girl on Tuesday. It comes just days after a separate dog attack in the city that a child is not expected to survive.
According to police, officers were dispatched at 4:40 p.m. to the 7500 block of Janell Avenue North after receiving a report that a dog attacked a 7-year-old girl.
When officers arrived, the dog was loose in the area. When officers attempted to catch the dog, it tried to attack a boy. That's when officers shot and killed the dog, according to police.
"It pushed me down and started hurting me," said seven-year-old Yamah Yekeku.
While Yekeku's cuts and scratches from the attack only require some ibuprofen and skin cream, Yekeku's mother, Mary Innis, said she's worried the dog who attacked her daughter may have had rabies. Police said rabies test results should be available by Thursday.
"That's my fear right now," said Innis.
The owners of the dog, a one-year-old pit bull named Diamond, said she was just playful and has never hurt anyone until now.
"She was just a puppy," said Yazmina Warsame.
Warsame and her mother owned Diamond. Warsame said it should never have come to this.
"They shot her. She just ran until she couldn't run anymore. She just wanted to play and they killed her," said Warsame.
"I don't know that [the] trend is increasing. We certainly have seen an increase in animal related problems in our city," said Brooklyn Park police Inspector Elliot Faust. "Folks in the community need to spend some time thinking about what does it mean to be an animal owner, what does it mean to be a dog owner. It's a great responsibility."
Last week, another dog attack left a 3-year-old in critical condition on the 7500 block of Brooklyn Park Drive North, which is about five miles east of Tuesday's attack.
The boy had been playing on playground equipment outside the home when he was attacked, police say.
According to police, several officers discharged their service weapons and hit both dogs. One of the dogs was killed and the other was injured.
The child was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
