Oct 15, 2001 Rockford Pit Bull Attacked Man, is Killed By Police

Rockford - A stray pit bull was shot and killed by police after it attacked a man Sunday.

Sgt. Joe Westmoreland said the dog's owners recently were evicted from their residence but let the dog behind.  The dog escaped and found its way inside Winn Tools and Impressions Co., 1308 Barnes St.

When the business owner and an employee, John Korzun, 51, arrived, the dog attacked Korzun, Westmoreland said. The business owner, whose name was unavailable, helped korzun fight the dog off and called 911.

The dog later threatened Rockford firefighters and police officers before it was killed.  Korzun was treated by firefighters but refused further treatment.

Winnebago County Animal Control is trying to locate the dog's owner, Westmoreland said.  Charges are pending.

Rockford Register Star, Monday Oct 15, 2001, p. 8A

Aug 25, 2001 Chicago Pit Bull Severely Mauls a Toddler

Chicago - A 2 1/2-year-old boy was mauled and severely injured by a pit bull Friday in the second dog attack against an Englewood child in three days.

Tyshawn Cherry was playing with his older brother and three sisters in his front yard in the 1400 block of West 73rd Place about 10:20 a.m. when an adult pit bull squeezed through a gap in the chain-link fence, said family members and neighbors who saw the attack.

"The dog pushed him down, started biting his hair off, then started scratching his face," said Christine Cherry, 11, the boy's sister. "Then he bit his leg and started pulling him everywhere. Everybody was saying, `Get it off of him, get it off of him.' But they couldn't get it off."

Robert Langston, 55, was sitting on his porch next door and ran into the yard after hearing the children screaming. Another neighbor handed Langston an iron pipe, which he used to beat the dog.

Langston said it didn't appear the children had provoked the dog.

Tyshawn was freed from the dog, witnesses said, when a man who lives on the same block jumped over the fence, pried the dog's teeth from the boy's head and threw the dog over the fence.

The toddler was taken to Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in serious condition Friday afternoon, a hospital spokesman said.

The man who pried the dog off the boy, Gregory Joseph, 26, was cited for failing to restrain and license a dog, said Sgt. John Brundage of the Englewood District.

Animal control officers never found the dog, which had run toward Joseph's house. Neighbors said they saw Joseph take off his shirt, wrap it around the bloody dog, and then put the dog in a green SUV that was driven away from his house.
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Jun 05, 1896 Chicago Man Set His Bulldogs Upon His Wife

Aug 01, 2001 Chicago Bulldogs Kill Owner

Chicago - A 77-year-old Logan Square man found dead in his home with a puddle of blood at his feet apparently was killed by his own two bulldogs, the Cook County medical examiner ruled Tuesday.
Alexander Gillis was unresponsive when his son-in-law found him sitting in a kitchen chair about 10 p.m. Monday in the man's home in the 2600 block of West Logan Boulevard, according to a police spokeswoman.

Click to see Dogsbite.org's interactive map of Illinois Fatal Pit Bull Attacks
When paramedics arrived a short time later, they noted that Gillis had multiple puncture wounds and lacerations to both of his calves, and tourniquets were tied around both of his ankles in an apparent effort to try to stop the bleeding.
It was unclear who tied the tourniquets, police said. Gillis' death, however, was caused by "multiple injuries from a dog attack," a Cook County spokeswoman said. The medical examiner's office has ruled the death accidental.
Police at the scene found Gillis' blood trailing through the house to the basement, where they found what police identified as two adult male English bulldogs.
But a spokeswoman for the city's Animal Care and Control unit said the dogs were either English or American bulldogs. They will remain at the city's pound until further notice from police, she said.
"Animal Control indicated that the dogs were very calm when they received them," police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor said. Taylor said police are still investigating the matter, and it is unclear whether one or both dogs were involved in the killing and what--if anything--may have prompted the attack.
Priscilla Scienski, 79, Gillis' next-door neighbor, said Gillis loved the dogs and she would often see him playing with them.
"He said he bought the dogs for the kids, but I think he was the one who really cared for them," Scienski said.

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Jul 19, 1990 Chicago Pit Bull Killed 6 Month Old Tionna Kenny
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Nov 12, 1988 Dekalb Pit Bull Kills NIU Student Kevin Cull

Historical posts:
May 27, 1931 Chicago Pet Bulldog's Attack Fatal to Woman
Jun 06, 1912 Chicago infant fatally mauled by bulldog
May 11, 1910 Chicago Bulldogs Fatally Attacked an Old Lady
Jun 23, 1892 Chicago Family Bulldog Kills Child in Terrible Attack