News Releases

Woman Injured in Dog Attack

For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 16, 2014

On October 16 at approximately 12:10 p.m., Montgomery County Emergency Dispatch received a 911 call during which the caller stated that she was being attacked by a dog. The emergency call taker could hear dogs barking in the background. The call disconnected before any further information could be gathered from the victim. Using cell phone tower information, the call was believed to be originating from somewhere in the area of the 4600 block of Garrett Park Road in Silver Spring.

With this information, officers responded to the area and spoke with residents who stated that they had heard screaming but could not provide an exact location. Officers heard screaming themselves and were able to locate the house where the screaming was coming from. They entered the house and found a 40 pound male, terrier mix dog actively attacking a 54 year- old woman. As officers moved to remove the dog from the victim, the dog charged the officers. One officer fired a single shot, killing the attacking dog. Officers then rendered first aid to the severely injured woman. Fire Rescue Services transported the woman to a hospital with serious, non life-threatening injuries. The victim is a family member of the dog’s owner and was taking care of the dog while the owner was out of town.

Personnel from the Montgomery County Police-Animal Services Division responded to the house and found 10 additional dogs in the residence. Those dogs were removed from the house as part of the pending investigation. The dogs were taken to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center where they will be cared for as the investigation goes forward.

NG

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Release ID: 14-379
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: press-releases