15-Month-Old Girl Mauled To Death By Grandparents' Dog In Rhode Island, Canine Put Down

A toddler was mauled to death by her grandparents’ dog in East Providence, Rhode Island on Thursday, July 16.

Police responded to a home after receiving a report of a dog attack where they found the 15-month-old girl with significant injuries. The toddler was rushed to a nearby hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The dog was described as "a pit bull-type breed" by the officers.

East Providence Police Chief William Nebus told ABC 6, as soon as the grandparents brought the toddler to the backyard, the canine "went after the child."

"It started out like any other day, where a parent dropped their child off at their grandparents’ house for babysitting and a visit. During lunchtime, there was some food set on the table outside, and the baby was crawling around in the yard where the dog had free reign, it was a fenced-in yard, and the dog just, unprovoked, went after the child," ABC 6 quoted Nebus, as saying.

Two more family members were attacked when they tried to intervene and the dog has since been put down, Nebus said.

Neighbor Heidi Dorazio recalled seeing police officers and Animal Control trying to capture the canine.

"We saw them going around the house with the pole to try and grab the dog, that took about a half-hour, 45 minutes. Then you saw them put the ladder on the roof, saw the officer walking across the roof quite a few times, and then you heard the shots. We heard the gunshots. I heard the dog howling when he went down. I just can't believe what I was hearing," Dorazio told television station WJAR.

"We heard the gunshots. I heard the dog howling when he went down. I just can't believe what I was hearing," Tracy Couto, who lives down the street, told the channel.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the police said they weren’t aware of any prior incidents involving the canine.

"At this time we are not aware of any prior incidents involving this dog, but the case remains under investigation by the East Providence Police Detective Division and East Providence Animal Control," police said in the statement.

The girl has been identified as Scarlett Pereira.

"Scarlett Elizabeth Hume Pereira, the cherished 15-month-old daughter of Manny and Brianne (Hume) Pereira of East Providence, passed away tragically Thursday, July 16, 2020. Scarlett will always be remembered as a happy little girl that brought joy & happiness to everyone she met. She was strong, feisty, smart, and loved to sing & dance. Bath time was especially her favorite; chewing on a washcloth and splashing around made her giggle! She loved her family very much. Scarlett was the sunshine in our lives," the toddler’s obituary reads.