A 3-month-old boy was mauled to death by a pit bull while police were outside the family's Texas home responding to a 911 domestic disturbance call.
Rayden Eugene Bruce, 3 months old, died Monday night after being mauled by 4-year-old pit bull inside the Burleson home. Police were outside responding to a 911 hangup call they had received and traced to Linda Drive, according to KDFW.
When they arrived at the house, they found the baby's father, Barnett Bruce, arguing with the baby's mother, Jessica Oxner, KDFW reports. Bruce's father, Richard Douglas, was holding the infant while the parents argued and gave their separate statements to the police. Rayden Eugene had fallen asleep in the grandfather's arms so he put the baby down on a bed in the bedroom and went back outside to join his son.
The grandfather then heard noises from the room and went in to find Rayden Eugene on the floor with the pit bull, the New York Daily News reports. The grandfather grabbed the child and ran out of the house screaming.
The infant suffered head trauma and “obvious injuries to his head,” BPD Commander Cindy Aaron said, according to the Cleburne Times-Review. The 3-month-old was transported to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, where he later died.
The dog, named Brody, was taken into custody by Burleson Animal Services, according to the newspaper. It was euthanized Tuesday morning. Aaron said there was another dog in the home, believed to also be a pit bull, who was not aggressive.
The pit bull who mauled the infant was involved in a minor dog bite incident in 2011, Kim Peckler, supervisor of Burleson's Animal Services told the Star-Telegram. The dog was placed in quarantine and eventually released back to the owner.
The investigation is ongoing.