A woman was critically injured after she was mauled by multiple dogs in northwest Miami-Dade Thursday night in an incident that ended with a deputy opening fire, officials said.
Home surveillance video captured the woman walking near NW 145th Street and 11 Court shortly after 6 p.m. when the dogs attacked her, dragged her to the ground for more than 20 seconds.
“I saw 4 dogs run to her, run to her!” said Francois, a neighbor.
Neighbor Fannie Shogreen heard the screams.
“A young lady screaming, ‘help, help, help.’ Desperate,” said Shogreen.
Her husband sprayed the dogs with water as neighbors rushed to help.
“You can see the white skin and the arms – a lot of blood,” said Shogreen of the attack.
When Miami Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived the woman was being treated by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and multiple dogs were found in the front yard of a home.
Deputies tried to contain the dogs but one of them tried to attack a deputy, and the deputy opened fire, officials said.
“The police shot in the ground and they run,” said Francois.
The dogs retreated and fled in an unknown direction, and it’s unclear whether any of them were struck.
Shogreen said the dogs have been a problem for months. She says the terriermixes have been known to jump six-foot fences and dig under them, running loose in the neighborhood.
“If anybody pass they try to attack,” Shogreen said.
Shogreen says the woman who is responsible for the dogs has tried to distance herself from them, claiming they belong to her husband.
Shogreen told NBC6 he’s been gone for ten years.
“I think she wants to clean her hands and say those dogs belong to her husband which is not true,” she said.
Francois said she’s tried calling Miami Dade Animal Services to remove the dogs, but was told there was nothing they can do.
Now Shogreen is walking her dog with a bat, since the dogs in the attack remain on the loose.
“Look at me, I’m shaking, I’m shaking. I don’t know if they’re hiding here. That’s why I have this,” she said.
Miami Dade Animal Services says they were able to capture one of the four dogs Thursday, the remaining three are still on the loose.
The woman was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Her identity hasn’t been released.
Authorities said no other deputies or civilians were injured in the incident.
An investigation was ongoing.
