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- By Native News Online Staff
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A mother and son were brutally attacked by four dogs on Saturday morning, Jan. 21, on the Fort Hall Reservation in Gibson, Idaho. The boy, 7-years-old, died from injuries sustained during the attack. Both are non-tribal citizens.
The Fort Hall Police Department received the report at 5:31 p.m., local time, of a juvenile being attacked by dogs at a residence. By the time officers arrived, the mother and child were already receiving medical care in an ambulance.
The boy’s mother, Emily Islas, was severely injured after she tried to fight off the dogs, but was unable to do so. To protect her son, she laid on top of him. Both were taken to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho, 20 miles from where the tragedy occurred.
All four dogs were shot and killed by Fort Hall Police and Fort Hall Game Warden. The dogs — two Rottweilers and two mixed breeds — were still on the property when law enforcement arrived.
The Fort Hall Reservation is home to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
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“Fort Hall Business Council members would like to offer their sincere condolences to the family of the young man who lost his life in the tragic incident,” Fort Hall Business Council Vice Chair Donna Thompson said in a statement.
The mother and son lived in an RV behind a home on the property where the attack occurred. The child went outside the RV and when he did not return after a few minutes, his mother went looking for him. She found him lying face down with the dogs mauling him in the front porch area of the home.
The homeowners, a husband and wife, who were not home at the time of the incident, were later issued citations for 15 violations of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Animal Ordinance. The citations included vicious animal attack, rabies vaccination, and over the limit of canine or feline pets.
Fort Hall criminal investigators, the FBI, the FHPD and Tribal Fish and Game are conducting an ongoing investigation. The case will be submitted to the U.S. Attorney to review for potential federal charges.
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