Garland police say aggressive pit bulls attacked three people on Wednesday night, sending two of them to the hospital.

The victims were trying to protect trick-or-treaters in a Garland neighborhood on Wednesday. Police shot and killed one dog after it lunged at a responding officer and the other dog is in quarantine.

The manager of the Garland shelter says it is not safe to release the dog back to the owner. Police are now working to determine if the owner will face criminal charges for the attacks.

“The dogs were running after me, almost made me trip and fall,” said Jazmin Medlock, 9.

A group of three sisters and their friend were out on Halloween night having fun before it quickly turned terrifying.

"I was running behind my sisters,” said Ja'Niya Medlock, 4.


Their mother, Michelle Wagner, acted fast.

“I didn’t care about me getting bit, but I didn’t want them to get bit,” Wagner said.

After her kids got away, Wagner managed to get on top of a car while being attacked.

"I thought they were going to kill me,” Wagner said.

A resident yelled at the dogs, which then ran away and began attacking a man.

"He was screaming,” Wagner said. “They were telling him to get on the car, but he couldn’t."

Police say that victim was taken to a hospital with severe injuries.

Several blocks away a third person inside his home heard a commotion, looked out and saw the dogs chasing yet another group of children.

“He got in between the dogs and the children allowing the kids to get away and the dogs turned their attention on this person and bit him several times,” said Garland PD Lt. Pedro Barinau.

By the time police arrived, the dogs had bitten three people in the neighborhood. Barinau said one of the dogs began to attack an officer after he arrived on the scene.

“The officer drew his weapon fired several times, killing one of the dogs,” Barinau said.

An off-duty Rockwall Animal Control officer happened to be in the neighborhood and helped garland animal control to get the dog into custody.

“If it had not been for these parents, the kids could have been attacked and the injuries much worse,” Barinau said.

The owner of the dogs could be charged with attack by dog. Police say they will consider multiple factors, including how the dogs got out and if the owners knew about the aggressive tendencies of the animals.