The owner of a dog that mauled a 5-year-old boy to death in Chicago on Memorial Day has been cited by police, according to authorities.
Chicago Police News Affairs said the owner was cited for not having an animal rabies vaccination and for not having the proper animal license required in Chicago. No criminal charges were filed as of Wednesday, officials said.
Both the dog and 5-year-old James W. Nevils III were killed in the attack, which happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 8900 block of South Carpenter Street, police said.
A witness said she heard a woman screaming and saw the child's neck in the dog's mouth.
"Me and my brother ran over and I started calling 911 and my brother came across the street with a chair from our porch and tried to hit the dog with the chair but it wasn't working," said neighbor Bianca White.
Several neighbors rushed to the scene to help the boy and some began attacking the dog, witnesses said.
"We started hitting the dog with a brick, my brother grabbed a pole and kept hitting it until it died," said resident Marquis Lewis. "I wasn't thinking about nothing but getting the dog off the baby."
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Police said the dog was dead when officers arrived and the young boy was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center with "traumatic injuries." He was pronounced dead at 10:08 p.m., officials said.
"My heart hurts that we couldn't save him," said 19-year-old Lamar Lewis, who rushed to help save the boy.
