by Breeanna Jent on 2013-09-25
A 42-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man have been arrested on charges of felony child endangerment in connection with a fatal dog attack that resulted in the death of a two-year-old Rialto boy, Colton police said Tuesday afternoon.
Police responded on Monday, Sept. 23 around 5:30 p.m. to a call that a dog had killed a person on the 700 block of West Citrus Avenue in Colton, a police statement said. Responding officers found two-year-old Samuel Zamudio on scene, suffering from “extensive injuries to the upper body,” as a result of an attack by a group of pit bull mixes, according to the police statement. The child was transported to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Hours after Samuel’s death his grandmother, Eustulia Zamudio, and his uncle, Marco Zamudio, were taken into custody with charges of child endangerment said Colton Police Detective Ray Mendez.
Five pit bull mix dogs were determined by Animal Control workers to have attacked the child, said Det. Mendez. There were other dogs in the home, he said.
Det. Mendez speculated that the child was staying with relatives in the Colton home. He shared it was likely he was under the care of his uncle and grandmother when the incident occurred.
The dogs are being held at the San Bernardino City Animal Shelter, according to Mendez, who said that it has been his experience that dogs involved in dog attacks have ultimately been euthanized.
In April, Colton officers shot a pit bull after it attacked its elderly owner and another dog.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office is slated to review the case against Marco and Eustulia Zamudio this coming Friday, Sept. 27.
An investigation into the case is still ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the investigation should contact Detective McFarland at 909-370-5000.