Hamden Woman Seriously Injured in Rottweiller Attack

A Shelton Avenue woman was seriously injured Wednesday defending her granddaughter from two rottweilers who had escaped from a neighbor's yard and was attacking the child.

Hamden Police got a report of the two dogs attacking a person at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to police spokesman Capt. Ronald Smith. 

When police arrived, they saw a group of people with baseball bats and several others helping out a woman who was "bleeding profusely from the head and back," Smith said.

The woman, Cynthia Reed, 47, was treated at the scene by Hamden Fire Rescue and then taken to the Hospital of St. Raphael with serious injuries, Smith said.

According to police, the two rottweilers had escaped from a fenced yard at 35 Edwards St. when their owner, Kim Miller, was putting the garbage outside, Smith said. The dogs pushed open the gate and ran off to 440 Shelton Ave., Smith said, where they attacked the 6-year-old child.

Reed heard her granddaughter's screams and rushed outside to help her from her second-floor apartment, Smith said. A neighbor, Monique Jones, grabbed the child and ran into her home, he said. The child was not injured.

But when Reed got outside, the two rottweilers "viciously attacked her," Smith said.

"According to a witness, the canines bit and dragged Reed towards the street," he said. "Two area residents, Kenneth Lewis and Curtis Watkins, retrieved baseball bats and struck the two canines until they released Reed.

"It should be noted the numerous residents played a heroic role in coming to the aid of Cynthia Reed," Smith said.

Charges are expected to be filed against Miller, the owner of the dogs, Smith said, and Hamden Animal Control is continuing to investigate the incident. One of the dogs was taken to the North Haven Animal Shelter and the other was taken to the New Haven Central Veterinary Hospital for treatment, Smith said.