CHELSEA, AL – Tragedy has struck Chelsea, Alabama, as a three-month-old infant was killed following an attack by a pet wolf hybrid. On Thursday afternoon, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded to a distress call at a home reporting an animal attack involving an infant.
Emergency personnel, including deputies, firefighters, and animal control officers, quickly arrived at the scene. The infant was swiftly transferred to the area’s Grandview Medical Center. However, despite their efforts, the child was pronounced dead at the hospital after sustaining severe injuries during the animal attack.
CBS News affiliate WIAT confirmed that other children were present in the home during the horrifying incident. The city’s mayor, Tony Picklesimer, confirmed the details in a statement shared on social media, expressing sorrow for the incident and extending condolences to the family and others impacted by the tragic event.
The pet wolf hybrid responsible for the attack was euthanized on the scene by a local veterinarian, according to the sheriff’s office. The animal’s remains will be analyzed at Alabama State Diagnostics Laboratory for further examination and investigation into the deadly incident.
The case is jointly being investigated by the Alabama Department of Human Resources and the sheriff’s office. The Department of Human Resources’ primary mission is to safeguard both children and vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
A wolf hybrid, according to the International Wolf Center, is a term typically used to denote the offspring of a wolf and a domestic dog. This incident mirrors a similar occurrence in Virginia in 2018 involving an eight-day-old infant mauled to death by a wolf-dog hybrid. The animal was subsequently euthanized post-incident.