“We are thrilled to welcome our newest students to Wittenberg today for move in and to kick-off our annual Welcome Week,” said Karen Gerboth, university coordinator. “Unfortunately, an incident transpired ... while we were moving students into our residence halls. Thankfully, our Department of Public Safety’s Police Division responded immediately to the report of an aggressive dog attack and took the appropriate actions to secure our campus.”
Gerboth said the Springfield Police Division, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Clark County Dog Warden all responded to the scene to help with the situation.
Clarence Mann of Preble County said two hours after his family arrived on campus to help move in their eldest daughter Kaitlyn, 18, to start her first year of college, his 13-year-old son was mauled by three dogs he described as pit bulls.
His son, also named Clarence, was coming around the dormitory to take trash to the dumpster when he saw three loose dogs rush toward him, Mann said.
“The first one started biting him, the other one knocked him down and they were biting him. … Three of them all at the same time,” he said.
Speaking from Dayton Children’s Hospital on Thursday evening, Mann said his son, an eighth-grader at Preble-Shawnee Schools, used his arms and hands to protect his face and neck during the attack. The young teen suffered a crushed right wrist, a broken bone in his left arm above his elbow and numerous abrasions and deep bites on both arms. He initially was taken to Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center but later went to Dayton Children’s to treat his broken bones, the father said.
Mann said he was told the dogs killed a cat and also attacked police officers. He also was told that police shot and killed one dog.
A representative of the Clark County Dog Warden’s Office said one dog died in the incident, one dog was captured and one was at home with its owner. The official could not immediately provide additional details.
Residents in the area of Limestone and Cecil streets reported seeing officers and deputies with weapons drawn as they appeared to search for one of the dogs.
No other information was available from Springfield city officials, including how many people were bitten, their conditions and whether officers discharged their weapons.
Although his son was attacked outside his daughter’s dorm, Mann said he does not fear for his daughter’s safety, especially with one of the dogs dead. He also praised the first responders who treated his son.
“The medics and police officers they had at Wittenberg, they did an excellent job,” Mann said.
