Police confirmed they shot and killed a pit bull early on Friday morning after the dog reportedly mauled its owner to death in an apartment in the Bronx.
According to NYPD officials, police were called to a building on Simpson Street around 3 a.m. The 911 caller stated that the dog was biting its owner — whom family members later identified as 41-year-old Kaeem Robinson.
The two responding officers saw the dog attacking Robinson and fired their guns, according to the NYPD. The dog was struck multiple times and died at the scene.
Several members of Robinson’s family came to the building on Friday to find out more about what had happened, after learning of the incident on the news.
“We was all calling his phone, calling, calling, no one’s picking up,” said Kayesha Barnett, Robinson’s sister. “We said, ‘Well let’s call the hospital, St. Barnabas.’ And St. Barnabas was telling us that he already passed, they had him [as] a John Doe, and that they had him in the morgue already.”
Barnett said she didn’t know much about the dog, except that Robinson had gotten it to help him cope with losing his 18-year-old daughter to cancer two years ago.
“We’re just finding out about the dog ourselves,” she said, adding that the building, which is part of the city’s supportive housing program, has strict rules about pets. “The dog was never supposed to be in the building. No paperwork. I’m just not understanding how the dog got past security.”
Robinson’s family also said they were wondering about a woman who was apparently in the apartment with him at the time of the incident, but they didn’t know her name or her relationship with him.
The relatives said Robinson came from a family of animal lovers. His brother Courtney Maine said the siblings had lots of pets growing up, including cats, dogs and snakes.
Through tears, Maine said he was shocked by what had happened. “Not being there leaves me completely empty,” he said. “I don’t have no answers for that.”
Robinson had worked as a home attendant for his uncle, who lived elsewhere in the Bronx, according to the family. He had three other children and had been living in a homeless shelter before finding his own place in the newly constructed building on Simpson Street.
“It took him a couple of years to get his own apartment,” Barnett said. “I’m sorry that it had to go out this way.”
The NYPD officers involved in the incident were taken to a local hospital for evaluation, according to the department. The building was closed to press on Friday morning as detectives continued to investigate.
Several neighbors told Gothamist they heard “horrific” screaming in the hallway when the dog was attacking Robinson.
Thomas Barnett, Robinson’s brother-in-law, said he also owns pit bulls but has never had a problem with them.
“Something could have triggered him,” he said of the dog that attacked Robinson. “It’s just an unfortunate accident.”
This story has been updated with additional information.