KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 10-year-old was attacked by a dog two weeks ago, and instead of preparing for school, he’s now at home recovering.
“I looked like a whole new person after that happened,” Demetrius White II said.
“I was scared to death because it was so much blood,” Margo Murray, White’s mom, said.
White said he was playing outside with the dog owner’s grandkids. Someone let the dog off the leash.
“The dog went under the gate and ran to me and then I got scared and fell,” White said.
White had surgery on his face and ankle.
For six months, he can’t play sports, be in the sun or participate in any activities that will make him sweat.
When the family returned home from the hospital, they thought their only concern would be their son’s recovery, but a conversation with the dog’s owner soon turned into confrontation.
“I just wanted the dog,” Demetrius White I said. “He didn’t want to give me the dog, so things turned left.”
White I said the dog’s owner came over to talk but didn’t want to put his dog down.
Things escalated when witnesses said the son of the dog owner, Sylvester Tart, pulled out a gun and shot it in the air.
Tart was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.
“It didn’t need to escalate to this because you would be upset and want someone to be held accountable if this was your child too,” Murray said.
Murray wants Tart to also face charges for putting them in harm’s way. She said the dog was euthanized by animal control.
A GoFundMe was created to help pay Demetrius White Jr.’s medical expenses. You can donate here.