Students ‘reduced to tears’ as ‘unruly’ XL Bully assaults girl
A sizable XL Bully dog, described as 'massive' and 'unmanageable', assaulted a young girl during a primary school outing.
The incident took place at Salford Quays in Greater Manchester, shortly before 11am on Thursday. Police are currently working to locate the owner of the dog.
A group of 20 primary school children, accompanied by three teachers, were left in tears.
Conor Bennett, a 19-year-old student at Salford University, was walking with three friends when they witnessed the event.
“We were on our way to Tesco and took the route behind the Watersports Centre. We heard a dog barking and saw it cross the bridge from the Beefeater to the Watersports Centre. There were at least 20 children, all no older than seven. And this dog was enormous, larger than them.
The dog suddenly became aggressive towards them, causing chaos. It chased the kids around, pressing them against the fence, and moved up and down the line of children.
The teachers were understandably alarmed and unsure of what to do. They positioned themselves between the kids and the dog. However, there were a few who were frozen, and it targeted a girl. It clung onto her and then was directly on top of her.”
“Eventually, a man rushed over and wrestled the dog to the ground. However, it took him a good five minutes. He began loudly berating the teachers, insisting it was their fault for not moving out of the way. Another individual arrived, and together they struggled to remove the dog.
“It was a rather frightening ordeal. The girl remained in tears for quite some time. Many of the other children were also in tears. The staff at the Watersports Centre offered shelter to the kids.
“I spoke to one of the teachers afterward, and they mentioned the dog charged at them as a group. Reportedly, the girl was paralyzed with fear, and it singled her out. It had a firm grip on her, even pulling her coat off her shoulders. I don’t believe she sustained any injuries, but the force was enough to lift her off the ground.
“Conor stated that one of the teachers swiftly managed to lead some of the children to safety, while others worked to separate the girl from the dog. He, along with his friends and the centre’s staff, assisted in escorting the remaining children indoors until the dog was brought under control, using a rope from the centre.”
