Ruthie Mae Brown, 36, was killed on Monday in Walker County, Alabama when she was attacked by a pack of dogs while walking on a road. The tragic incident occurred on Jagger road in Nauvoo, northwest of Birmingham, on Monday afternoon. According to a Facebook post by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, “The woman was the victim of an attack from several dogs. Some of the dogs have been captured.”
A spokesperson with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, T.J. Armstrong, told AL.com that officers arrived on the scene at about 2 p.m. but Brown was already deceased. They confirmed to the outlet that the victim was the 36-year-old Brown, a mother of four from nearby Jasper. It’s unclear what prompted authorities to respond to Jagger road, but WIAT reported that a third party called in the incident.
The Incident Is Under Investigation & Authorities Are Working to Determine If Any Charges Will Be Laid
#Alabama fatal #dog #attack “Authorities identified the victim as Ruthie Mae Brown. She was 36 and lived in Jasper.” t.co/ztJzrogFKG We are having terrible flashbacks to Emily Mae Colvin… t.co/yBFeqw6jCg
The incident is under investigation, the Daily Mountain Eagle reported. It’s unclear how many dogs were involved and what breed of dog they were, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith told the outlet, although investigators believe there were at least five dogs. Walker County Coroner Joey Vick told the Daily Mountain Eagle that a forensic analysis of Brown’s body will provide an official cause of death. However, the outlet wrote that Vick said there was “severe trauma caused by an attack by dogs.”
Smith also stated that the dogs all had owners and were not strays. One owner has already come forward to claim two of the dogs from the attack, and officers were working to capture at least three more. The two dogs who were captured will be brought to the Walker County Humane Society, Smith told the outlet.
Police are asking people from the area to contact them if there have been other dog attacks in the same neighborhood. Once the investigation is completed, the district attorney’s office will determine if charges will be laid.
WBMA reported that Brown was the mother of four boys, but not much information has been made public about the victim.
Witnesses & Neighbors Said This Is a Known Dog Pack That Wanders the Neighborhood & the Animals Are ‘Aggressive’
Family tells me the victims name is Ruthie Brown. She was 36 and had 4 boys. More on @abc3340 at 10.
Neighbors and witnesses told WBMA that the incident has rattled the neighborhood. They said that the dog pack frequently wanders the neighborhood but Brown, being from out of town, may not have known about it. One resident of Jagger road, Robin Johnson, said she’s often seen the pack close to the railroad tracks by Johnson and Jagger roads.
“It’s got us all on edge right now,” Johnson said. “It is really scary. I’ve seen them actually attack a deer.” She said she once encountered the pack and the dogs were very aggressive toward her:
I actually had a stick in my hand which I know the owners name and I would call the owners name and they would back off. They’re really aggressive dogs. They were very aggressive. If I wouldn’t have known the owner’s name it probably would have happened to me.
Armstrong told WBMA that a witness who saw the attack said there were as many as seven or eight dogs involved. The spokesperson added, “I’ve seen a dog bite, I’ve seen a dog attack but I’ve never seen a situation just as horrible as this.” He said the county doesn’t have a leash law.
Heavy reached out to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, the Humane Society and the Coroner’s Office for more information.
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