HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A mother is recovering after fighting off three aggressive dogs to protect her 2-year-old son, just moments after investigators say the same dogs fatally attacked a man on a nearby walking trail.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the attacks happened back-to-back Monday morning in a neighborhood off Morton Ranch Road.
Deputies say a man, in his early 60s, was walking on the Mason Creek Park North hike-and-bike trail, a route he reportedly used every morning, when three dogs attacked him around 9 a.m.
“Witnesses reported an Asian male being attacked by three dogs,” said Sgt. Jason Brown with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit. “The witnesses were able to run the dogs off, but by the time EMS arrived, the victim was deceased.”
ABC13 SkyEye flew over the area, where several patrol cars were visible, with one area roped off.
Investigators say shortly after that attack, the dogs ran into a nearby neighborhood and targeted their next victims: a mother, Blessing Okwunwa, and her young son.
Video captured by a neighbor’s surveillance camera shows the dogs running toward Okwunwa and her child as screams and barking can be heard.
“I stood and hid my son behind me, but they kept backing me up,” Okwunwa said. “Before I knew it, they jumped on me. I kept hitting and kicking them, but they were still biting me. They were not stopping.”
She says the dogs knocked her to the ground before turning their attention to her toddler.
“They pounced on my son and started biting him too,” she said. “I quickly dragged him and ran into the garage.”
Okwunwa says she was able to fight the dogs off inside the garage. Video shows the animals eventually running away.
Precinct 5 deputy constables and Harris County Animal Control later captured the dogs.
Investigators believe the dogs, described as pit bull mixes, came from a home in another neighborhood about a mile away. Authorities say there have been no prior reports of aggression involving the dogs, and the owners are cooperating with the investigation.
“We don’t think these are stray dogs,” Sgt. Brown said.
The dogs will be quarantined pending a hearing, he added.
Okwunwa and her son were treated at the emergency room and later released. She showed ABC13 where she was bitten and shared photos of deep wounds on her son’s legs. She says she hopes the dogs’ owners are held accountable.
“I don’t know what they would have done to those dogs to make them so aggressive,” she said. “I’ve seen pit bulls that are nice. I feel like they must have gone through torture to make them that aggressive.”
The investigation into both attacks remains ongoing.
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