Mississippi woman reportedly charged after pit bulls maul 37-year-old woman

Residents in a Jackson, Miss., neighborhood say they’ve been fearful of Debra Ann Bell’s dogs for years. This week, their worst fears were realized.

A 37-year-old woman suffered what witnesses described as life-threatening injuries Tuesday when police say at least two of the pit bulls owned by Bell attacked the woman on Clairmont Street, according to a report by WLBT.

“I don’t know what hospital she is in right now. I hope she’s still living, but it didn’t look like she was going to make it. She lost so much blood, and all of her insides were laying out on the ground,” one witness told the TV station, asking to not be identified out of fear of retaliation by Bell. “I had never seen anything like that. Every time I think about it, I’m almost about to throw up.”

Bell was arrested following the attack and charged with aggravated assault. If the victim does not survive, that charge could be upgraded to manslaughter, according to the report. Her condition was not immediately known as of Thursday.

All six of the adult pit bulls reportedly owned by Bell were captured, taken to the Mississippi Animal Rescue League (MARL) and euthanized.

“I was advised when they came in that the two dogs that evidently were the perpetrators of the attack were covered in blood, a good bit of blood. They were aggressive. This wasn’t a bite. this was an attack,” MARL Communications Director Deborah Boswell said, according to the report. Boswell said euthanizing the dogs is standard procedure, as housing them would put MARL staff at risk.

Another Clairmont Street resident, Nancy Singleton, told WLBT she had been calling city officials and talking directly to Bell about the dogs. Although the dogs are gone, Singleton said the issue should have been dealt with much sooner.

“It’s bitter because it shouldn’t have happened,” she said. “It shouldn’t have taken someone to be fighting for their life for something to be done.”