A New York City family is mourning the death of a newborn baby reportedly mauled by a dog in her sleep. The tragedy occurred on May 27, 2025, at the New York City Housing Authority’s Queensbridge Houses. The baby’s mother reportedly awoke around 6:30 a.m. and found the family’s 6-week-old German shepherd-pit bull mix chewing on the infant’s face. The family called 911 to help, but sadly, the infant died from her injuries.
According to the New York Post, emergency responders arrived at the unidentified family’s home, where the mother stood screaming. Per the New York Post, the infant was sleeping in a bed between her mother and stepfather during the attack.
One of the mother’s friends told the New York Post what she knew. “She told me she woke up, and the dog was eating the baby!” the friend said. “Chewing on the baby’s face!”
“I said, ‘Y’all laying right next to the baby?! How the f— do not hear the baby cry?!” the woman asked. “She didn’t have that, she just kept saying, ‘We was laying right there! We was laying right there!’”
Neighbors told the New York Post they heard the mother screaming and the police arriving at the family’s home.
“I heard [the baby’s mother] screaming, and I heard the cops,” Shanel Norville said. Norville claims she warned the mother about the dog and had been worried it could hurt the baby. She had allegedly encountered the mother and the baby in the elevator just two days before.
“Then she went back, forgot something, and the dog, which wasn’t on the leash, is never on a leash, was never on a leash, walked onto the elevator by itself and went down and got off on some floor,” Norville said.
”I told her, ’That dog needs to be on a leash.’ She said, ‘No, this dog don’t bite,’” Norville recalled. “I said, ’All dogs bite. That dog needs to be on a leash.’ And she just looked at me like, whatever.”
CBS News reported that animal control took possession of the dog. The baby’s death remains under investigation. It is unclear whether the parents will face charges in the infant’s death.
