A heroic 13-year-old girl ‘made every effort possible’ to save a one-year-old boy from a pit bull but tragically was unable prevent his death.
Jiryiah Johnson was supposed to be in the care of his babysitter, Heather Rodriguez, 36, when her pit bulls mauled him inside her Converse, Texas home on Monday.
Rodriguez had left the child alone with her teenage daughter and the three violent dogs.
When the dogs started to attack the baby, the teenager desperately tried to protect him but ended up in a ‘tug-of-war for the baby’ with one of the dogs, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
‘She made every effort possible, even lifting that baby over her head, but my understanding is the dog climbed onto something and was able to get the baby out of her hands,’ he told KSAT.
Jiryiah Johnson, 1, died after being mauled by his babysitter’s pit bulls
The pit bulls were taken into custody after the attack, as the owner appeared to be more concerned with her dogs’ wellbeing than the baby and her daughter
The other two dogs jumped into the attack as the girl ran around the house trying to get the child away from the dogs. She tried to take Jiryiah into the bathroom, but the dogs continued their chase.
Realizing the danger, she tried to get her cellphone to call for help.
The teen tried to shut her and Jiryiah in a bedroom to wait for the police to arrive, but the dogs bit through and wrecked the door to get inside the room.
Rodriguez returned home as the deputies were trying to get into the house. She was able to get the dogs outside.
Heather Rodriguez, 36, left her daughter, 13, alone with the baby and her three violent dogs
The pit bulls broke through the door of the room the girl and the baby were in
‘She seemed to be more concerned with what was going on with those dogs,’ Salazar said about Rodriguez.
Jiryiah was taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. He was bitten on his neck and face.
He died on Monday night after he was transferred to University Hospital after having multiple surgeries.
‘I couldn’t imagine,’ a woman living in the neighborhood who was shocked by the incident told KSAT.
The heroic girl was also bitten several times during the attack.
Police arrived at Rodriguez’s house after her daughter was able to call for help on her cell phone
‘It’s a heartbreaking scenario,’ Salazar said.
Jiryiah’s devastated mother, Erika Castro, told KENS5 that she could not process the attack.
‘I’ve been shaking, I’ve been having panic attacks,’ Castro said.
‘I wish she’d stayed like she said she would’ve,’ she added about Rodriguez.
Castro said she was told that the dogs would be kept away from her son.
One of the dogs has been taken into custody – meaning Rodriguez has lost all rights to it – and the other two were taken by animal control.
Jiryiah giggled in a child’s swimming pool. He was mauled by pit bulls as a teenage girl desperately tried to save him
Jiryiah and his father Julian Johnson are pictured
Rodriguez was arrested and charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission.
She may face more charges for her daughter’s injuries. Child Protective Services is investigating the case and Rodriguez is being held in Bexar County Jail on $100,000 bond.
In April, Rodriguez received a citation when her unleashed dogs would not let a man out of his car.
Salazar said that Jiryiah’s parents knew that Rodriguez had three large pit bulls, but did not know they were violently behaved.
‘If you have a dog like that, that you know is vicious, you know is a problem, for one thing, don’t even bring babies into the house, especially someone else’s baby,’ Salazar told KSAT.
Castro told KENS5 that she is thankful for Rodriguez’s daughter because she ‘did her best.’
Jiryiah pictured with his parents. A GoFundMe has been set up to help them with funeral and medical costs
A GoFundMe for Castro and Jiryiah’s father Julian Johnson has been made to fund funeral and medical costs.
‘I can’t imagine what you and your family are going through. Although no words will make you feel better, I hope you fight for justice for your precious little one,’ Ashlie Vargas, a GoFundMe donor wrote.
Castro described her baby as a ‘goofy’ and loving boy who loved dinosaurs and Bluey, the cartoon.
