STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A man and woman stand accused of cruelty to animals after multiple dogs escaped from a house and bit at least three people in a frightening episode on Tuesday afternoon in New Brighton.
The dog were left unattended in the house prior to their escape, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
The incident, which happened at about 12:50 p.m., occurred on the 200 block of York Avenue near Prospect Avenue, prompting a large emergency response that included officials from the NYPD and FDNY/EMS.
Rodney Jones, 48, who lives in the house on York Avenue, and Shontay Holland, a 29-year-old woman from Junius Street in Brooklyn, were charged by police with reckless endangerment, aggravated cruelty to animals and acting in a manner injurious to a child, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
A pack of dogs barged out of a home and attacked and injured three people, including a 2-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl, police said previously.
Neighbors in the area described a chaotic scene and said the victims desperately attempted to beat back the canines in the street.
While the NYPD could not confirm the breed of the dogs, neighbors described them as pit bulls.
A law-enforcement source said it is believed they bolted through an opened window.
When officers arrived at the scene, they saw as many as six dogs surrounding neighbors in the street, “actively attempting to bite people,” an NYPD spokesman said.
Eventually, a resident of the home returned and corralled the dogs back inside. The animals were unsecured for about 10 minutes, police said.
Three individuals were taken to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the NYPD.
The victims, according to police, were:
- A 2-year-old girl who suffered injuries to her left arm and left side
- A 13-year-old girl who was bitten in the leg
- A 19-year-old woman with bite marks on her leg
A report of multiple dogs off their leashes near York and Prospect Avenues in New Brighton prompts a large emergency response on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)