Pit Bull Kills 2-Year-Old Near Hemet

A 2-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pit bull Friday morning near Hemet, despite the efforts of a young boy who tried to rescue her by kicking the animal until it unclenched its jaws, authorities said.

Summer Clugston was attacked by the brown and tan dog while playing in the frontyard of her house in an area known as Good Hope, police said.

The girl lived with her parents and younger brother in a mobile home that also housed another couple with four school-age children, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shelley Kennedy-Smith said.

When the attack occurred, Summer was being supervised by the other couple because her parents were at work, Kennedy-Smith said.

A boy estimated to be 9 or 10 who lived in the home sprinted to the girl’s aid.

He kicked the dog several times, freeing the critically wounded girl from the dog’s jaws, Kennedy-Smith said.

Two neighbors said they heard screaming and crying at the home about 9:50 a.m., around the time deputies were alerted.

Deputies arrived minutes later. At 11:03 a.m., the girl was pronounced dead at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

“I’m shook up; this is awful,” said Donna Taylor, who lives next door. She and several neighbors said they didn’t know the families who lived on the property very well.

The pit bull was described by authorities as the family dog of the other couple living in the home. The dog was removed from the property by Riverside County Animal Control and killed Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Kennedy-Smith said an investigation into Summer’s death was being conducted by authorities from the district attorney’s office and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

She said no determination had been made whether to file child endangerment charges.

“We have to determine if there was criminal intent or negligence,” Kennedy-Smith said.

“We’re investigating whether the dog had a hostile history, if it was being trained to be violent, or if animal control had been called out here previously. It’s not illegal to keep a pit bull in the presence of children.”

Tony Barela, a neighbor, said he was irked that the four dogs on the property, including the pit bull, frequently trotted through the opened gate and roamed the rural, hilly neighborhood.

“I don’t know if people were reporting it, but if I had kids, I would have,” Barela said.

“In my opinion, any pit bull is dangerous. I wouldn’t get near it myself, much less let a baby near it.”

Yami Chavez, the mother of a 2-year-old who lives across the road from where the mauling took place, said she refused to walk through the neighborhood with her son because of the presence of the dogs.

“The pit bull they had there was pretty mean and barked a lot,” Chavez said.

“My husband had to chase him out of our yard once. I had just always assumed that dog was just protective of that home and the people that lived there. But I never let my guard down when I was outside my home.”