Owner of Pit Bulls in Fatal Attack Charged with Manslaughter: Report

ATLANTA, GA -- Charges have reportedly been upgraded for the owner of two dogs that fatally mauled a child and severely injured two others.

Cameron Tucker was arrested Tuesday and initially charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct in the incident. On Wednesday morning, the charges were upgraded to felony involuntary manslaughter, according to local news reports.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is weighing additional charges in the attack, which has horrified the community around Jasper and Gideon streets in Atlanta and left them on edge.

Read more: 'Brave kids' tried to fend off vicious dogs, police say

A group of schoolchildren were walking to the bus stop early Tuesday when three dogs jumped out and attacked, witnesses said.

Syrai's great aunt, Tamiko Willams, said that she ran outside and heard screams and saw the worse thing a family member could see: "I seen this pit bull all over my niece just grabbing and biting her," she told WXIA-TV.
Neighbor Shamonta Clayton said he rushed over after hearing the commotion only to see a dog menacing over a child, crumpled on the ground.

"I saw the mother there screaming. She couldn't pick the child up, so I picked up his lifeless body and I carried it to the ambulance," he told the TV station.

Six-year-old Logan Braatz succumbed to injuries in the vicious attack; Syrai Sanders suffered severe injuries and a third child has been treated and released, according to media outlets.

Meanwhile, residents held a vigil late Tuesday and have erected a makeshift memorial at the scene of the attack.Pictures posted on social media showed stuffed animals and toys on the ground, remembers of the young soul lost.

The children were walking to F.L. Stanton Elementary School on Martin Luther King Dr. in southwest Atlanta.

The school released a statement, according to WSB, saying that the district is assisting students who may be having a hard time over the incident: “Atlanta Public Schools sent a crisis team to F.L. Stanton this morning to provide grief counseling for students and staff. Our deepest condolences go out to the family.”

Image via Twitter / WXIA