A 71-year-old woman was seriously injured in a multi-dog attack in Tennessee.
On Saturday, September 6, authorities were dispatched to a Madisonville residence, where they discovered Mary Norwood lying on the front porch, according to a news release shared on Facebook by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Norwood suffered “severe lacerations” on her body after being attacked by “approximately 10-15 pit bull mix dogs,” according to police.
Following the attack, witnesses and bystanders were able to separate the dogs from the elderly woman, according to authorities.
“Upon arrival of Monroe County EMS, the female victim was treated on scene and subsequently transported to the University of Tennessee Hospital for further medical treatment,” according to a news release from the MCSO.
“I’ve seen dog bites, dog attacks, but I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Sue Pettingill, the MCSO’s public information officer, according to local news outlet WVLT. “Nobody would have been able to get those dogs off of themselves because there were just too many of them.”
Authorities have yet to confirm Norwood’s condition following the dog attack.
“I’m not sure what her long-term issues will be because this was such a vicious attack. “I have never seen or heard anything like this before,” Pettingill told WVLT. “There was nothing she could do.” She was extremely vulnerable and helpless in that situation.”
Following an investigation by Monroe County Criminal Investigation Division Detectives and Monroe County Animal Control Officers, four people were charged with animals at large causing serious injury, a class E felony.
Clayton Warren Davis, 65, Sara June Burris, 44, Ricky Lee Burris, 57, and Sheila Jenene Kryzak, 54, have been charged with 12 counts of dogs without rabies vaccinations and 26 counts of animal cruelty, according to an updated news release from the MCSO on September 8.
Animal control has since removed 27 dogs from the premises. “One dog belongs to the victim, 13 dogs belonging to the suspects were adult dogs and 13 dogs were puppies,” said the marshal’s office.
Ricky, who is currently on “medical furlough,” is expected to face additional charges for possessing “a potentially vicious dog or a vicious dog as a violent felon” and failing to register as a sex offender, according to an MCSO news release.
Sara has also been charged with possession of paraphernalia, possession of drug paraphernalia, and bringing contraband into a correctional facility, according to police.
Pettingill of the MCSO told WBIR that this was not the first time dogs had been removed from the property.
She did, however, say that it was the first time someone had been seriously injured as a result of the dogs.
The MCSO did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for an update on Norwood’s condition and the incident that occurred on Saturday, September 13.
