A horrific scene played out on a street in southwest Atlanta on Tuesday morning, leaving a young boy dead and a small girl suffering severe injuries in a deadly pit bull attack.

Children on Gideon’s Drive were walking to the bus stop as they do every school day to catch a bus to the Stanton Elementary School. But, this morning was different, as the children made their way to the bus stop, one of three pit bulls roaming the area, attacked the young boy, thought to be five to six years old, fatally injuring him.

A second pit bull turned his aggression to a second child, a young girl, also five to six years of age. This second attack severely injured that child.

Other children ran to fend off the dogs, as homeowners in the area, alerted by the screams, exited their homes armed with baseball bats, knives and guns, to also help run off the canines.

By the time help could come, the first pit bull had left the young boy dying, and had cornered other school children on the porch of an abandoned home. Shamonta Clayton ran the animal off, but as he was approaching the fatally injured child, the dog circled back to the child and Clayton chased it off again, this time with a firearm.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]Witnesses say that they have seen the dogs roaming the streets collarless in the past. 

Officers arrived at the scene and one of the canines was dispatched by police. The other two pit bulls were rounded up by animal control.

The children were taken to two hospitals in the area, Grady Memorial Hospital and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. A third child was treated for minor injuries and released.

Investigators combed the location and interviewed witnesses for hours this morning.

The investigation into the owner of the dogs, would find that they lived about a block from where the attack occurred. The owner was arrested, his charges have yet to be divulged by police.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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