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Baby killed and brother injured in Colchester dog attack, police say Colchester dog attack: baby killed and brother left with life-changing injuries
(about 5 hours later)
A baby boy has died and his brother has been seriously injured after they were attacked by a dog in Colchester. A four-month-old boy has died and his 22-month-old brother has been left with “life-changing” injuries after they were mauled by a dog in Colchester.
Emergency services were called to an address in Harwich Road at 3.10pm on Thursday. The boy who was wounded was left with “life-changing injuries”, police said. Police were called by paramedics to a detached house on Harwich Road at 3.10pm on Thursday, where the two boys and their mother were found injured. All were taken to hospital, where the four-month-old died from his injuries.
A woman was also taken to hospital with minor injuries after being bitten by the dog, whose breed was unknown. The older child was initially treated at Colchester general hospital, before being transferred to a specialist unit elsewhere, according to a tweet by the area’s MP, Will Quince. The woman was treated for minor injuries.
Ch Insp Elliot Judge said: “This is a tragic incident that Essex police is investigating. Specially trained officers are providing support to the family at this difficult time.” The dog has since been put down, police have said.
The baby was initially transferred to Colchester general hospital after the attack, but later died from his injuries. Police and forensic investigators were still at the house on Friday afternoon, and the property’s back garden was taped off. Neighbours said they did not know the family well and that they had only moved in this year.
In a statement on Thursday, the local ambulance service said: “We dispatched three ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance officer, and an air ambulance from the Essex and Herts air ambulance trust. At the scene two young children were treated by crews, one for life-threatening injuries, and the other for life-changing injuries.” Ellen Double, 87, who lives several doors down, said: “We never knew the people who lived there. I’ve never seen anybody go in there and as for a dog or children, you never see anything except three cars – that’s all I have seen.
Officers removed the dog from the property after the incident. “So yesterday when I saw the ambulance; first it was just one ambulance and suddenly there were two emergency ambulances and police cars. The whole road was blocked.”
A neighbour, who did not want to be named but was at home at the time of the attack, said: “The whole community is in shock. It’s all very upsetting. You are caught off guard with these things. I am very upset about it all. My children saw it [the aftermath] and are very upset. Double said she did not see the two children being taken into waiting ambulances, but she saw a woman guided from the house and into the back of one.
“We suddenly saw police cars at the house and the fact that it was two children is very upsetting. The little baby couldn’t have done anything. It’s just so sad. I didn’t know the family well but you look out of the window and recognise your neighbours. I just can’t believe it.” “The last thing I saw was that a young woman came out with something draped over her head and she went into the ambulance,” she said. “She was the last person to come out. I was standing up at my bedroom window and I couldn’t help watching, but I didn’t know how serious it was.
Scott Mills, who lives in a house opposite, became aware of “commotion” when he saw four police cars and two ambulances arrive at the family home on Thursday afternoon. “She was bent down and she had her coat or whatever draped right over her head, so nobody could see her, but she got into the ambulance which then drove away.”
The 24-year-old, who was among a crowd of concerned neighbours and passers-by who gathered as emergency services cordoned off the road, said: “When we heard that a baby had died, everyone was very upset. It’s dreadful and so tragic. Scott Mills, 24, an accountant who lives across the road from the scene, described the light brown dog which was later taken from the house as “like a staffordshire bull terrier, but slightly more built”.
“There were a lot of children about because of the time - a lot of children were coming home from school.” “It was more broad, it was like it was a cross-breed,” he said. “It was primarily staffordshire in its looks, but it was a lot broader.”
Mills believes the dog was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-type dog, although the breed has not been confirmed by police: “I saw the dog being taken away. At 4pm a black van arrived. The dog was taken out of the property at 4.30pm. It was on a pole lead. It wasn’t a normal Staffie. It was a lot more chunky - probably a Staffordshire cross or some kind of bulldog breed. Armed response units were initially on the scene, Mills said, but the dog was taken away by a specialist handler. “It was on a pole lead,” he said. “It was totally calm coming out. There was no blood or anything on it.
“No one opposite knows the family but I wish them the best at this awful time for them after a tragic accident.” “It didn’t appear aggressive; it just appeared that it was being put on a lead to go for a walk. It just jumped in the back of the van and the van left.”
Will Quince, MP for Colchester, spoke of his sorrow at the incident, tweeting: “So sad to hear of the death of a baby in a dog attack in Colchester. My thoughts and prayers are with his brother now at Colchester hospital.” Ch Insp Elliot Judge said: “This is a tragic incident that Essex police is investigating. Specially trained officers are providing support to the family at this difficult time.“We will not be making any further statement at this time and would ask the media to respect the family’s privacy.”
An East of England ambulance service spokesperson said: “We received a call yesterday (13 October) at 3.08pm to reports of a serious incident in Colchester. We dispatched three ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance officer, and an air ambulance from the Essex and Herts air ambulance trust. At the scene two young children were treated by crews, one for life-threatening injuries, and the other for life-changing injuries. Both were taken to Colchester general hospital via land ambulance in a serious condition.”