A neighbor who heard an elderly man’s final screams has spoken out after the 68-year-old was fatally mauled by a pack of dogs on an Illinois street.
James L. Gibson, 68, suffered bite wounds to his face, torso, arms, and legs when at least five dogs attacked him Thursday night in Washington Park, according to local outlet First Alert 4. He had stepped outside for a smoke break while working on a rental property when the animals set upon him.
Local resident Mike Tomlin told First Alert 4 that the sounds drew his attention from nearby. “I heard the man screaming, and then I could hear dogs,” Tomlin said. “I mean, he was screaming for his life.”
Tomlin continued, “I realized he was getting mauled by some dogs.”
During the attack, the dogs dragged Gibson across the street and attempted to pull him into a ditch, First Alert 4 reported. Officers responding to the scene encountered the animals and shot several when they became aggressive, after which the pack fled to a nearby wooded area.
Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Fox 2.
Google Street View images captured in April show five dogs roaming freely down roads in the same area, past homes, a small farm shed, and detached tractor-trailer shipping containers. The images were taken from the same stretch where Gibson was killed, though it has not been independently verified whether the dogs pictured were the same animals involved in Thursday’s attack.
Investigators believed the dogs were strays, but neighbors told Fox 2 that the animals had frequently escaped a fenced-in yard for roughly two years. It remained unclear who allegedly owns the dogs.
St. Clair County Animal Control informed Fox 2 that it had not received prior calls about the dogs. The Washington Park Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment.