A 22-year-old Minnesota man was mauled to death by his older brother’s four pit bulls. The deadly dog attack left the young man with “extensive bites on a majority of his body.”
Dezmond R. Thomas Trawick was playing with his older brother’s four pit bulls around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday at his Brooklyn Center home. The pit bulls didn’t live with Thomas Trawick, but he was watching the animals for his brother.
While Trawick was playing with the dogs in his backyard, the pit bulls violently turned on him.
Jerry Nelson, Thomas Trawick’s neighbor, witnessed the lethal dog attack, which he said left him “messed up all day.”
Nelson said Thomas Trawick was tossing a tennis ball to the four dogs.
“I thought they were playing, you know, jumping on him, and I was like, ‘Hey, you need help?’ And then he looked at me. He’s like, you know, fighting them off. He’s like, you know – kind of hesitated,” Nelson said, according to Fox News. “But then it got really serious. He’s like, ‘Yeah, can you come here? Can you come help me?’”
Nelson called 911 to report the violent dog attack. He then hurled rocks and sticks at the animals to try to stop the dog attack.
“I mean, those are big, giant, dogs, and I couldn’t get them off of him,” Nelson said.
Brooklyn Center Police Department dispatched officers to the home. An officer fired a nonlethal round at one of the pit bulls. All of the dogs scattered and ran back into the house, according to police.
“The victim had most of his clothing ripped off and had extensive bites on a majority of his body,” the police said in a statement.
Thomas Trawick was intubated and rushed to the North Memorial Health Hospital. He was pronounced dead one hour later.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 22-year-old man died from “complications of the dog attack.” The death was preliminarily classified as an accident.
An investigation into the dog attack death has been initiated. Police said charges haven’t been filed as of yet, but that could change after the investigation.
All of the pit bulls were transported and quarantined at Pups Under Police Security – an animal holding center. The pit bulls will undergo a “dangerous dog evaluation” to determine what will happen to them, according to police.
Brooklyn Center Police Cmdr. Tony Gruenig told the Star Tribune. “There is about a 10- to 14-day process to declare the dogs dangerous. We have to serve paperwork, have a hearing, [and] if it’s declared dangerous, then there is an appeal process.”
Gruenig said that owner “could also turn the dogs over to the city, and the hearing would be waived.”
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to financially support his family and pay for funeral services for Thomas Trawick.
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