HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An 8-year-old boy with intellectual disabilities has died after he was viciously attacked by a dog last week in Wahiawa.
According to Honolulu police, the incident happened just after 11 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 100 block of Ohai Street.
Law enforcement sources told HNN Investigates the attack was captured on a home surveillance system. Those sources went on to say the video has been crucial in piecing together exactly what happened.
We’re told the child appeared to be alone, unattended, in a neighbor’s yard when he was mauled by a large dog that was on a chain.
When help arrived, the boy didn’t have a pulse. First responders managed to revive him and rushed him to the hospital with severe injuries to his head and neck.
“I’m horrified. Horrified that this happened,” said Meriah Nichols, who teaches disability studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“Many kids with intellectual disabilities, in particular Down syndrome and autism, will elope. And that’s where they just have an impulse to go somewhere and they go,” she said. “Kids with intellectual disabilities can be extremely clever and ingenious in finding a way to get out.”
HNN Investigates confirmed the boy lived nearby.
Honolulu police have not released any information regarding his parents’ whereabouts at the time of the attack.
HPD says it opened an unattended death investigation.
Meanwhile, the Hawaiian Humane Society says the dog’s owner surrendered the animal.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “I can confirm that the Honolulu Police Department requested our assistance after the owners of the dog surrendered him into their care following the incident. Hawaiian Humane’s trained staff assessed the dog’s behavior and the circumstances of the incident as shared to us by HPD’s responding officers. Because the dog exhibited severe aggressive behaviors that could pose a safety threat to staff, volunteers and the community, we proceeded with humane euthanasia as it was the most compassionate outcome for the animal and the safety of the public.”
HNN Investigates went to the neighborhood Monday morning to see if we could talk to the dog’s owner. We were told by a neighbor he wasn’t home. We were also unable to find the child’s family.
Data shows dog attacks on Oahu are on the rise. Between September 2023 and September 2024, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services responded to 300 calls for possible dog bites, up nearly 20 percent from the previous year.
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