A Texas college student was mauled to death in a “vicious dog attack” while pet-sitting three pit bulls, who her grieving mother said all “seemed to love her” before the dogs’ inexplicable heel turn on Friday.
Madison Riley, 23, was found dead in the backyard of a residential home in Tyler, Texas at around 4:15 p.m. Friday, police told WFAA.
A neighbor called 911, and deputies with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, KYTX reported. By that point, the three pit bulls had already pounced on Riley.
“The dogs then diverted their attention. All three of them to him. Started coming toward him, and he unholstered his weapon, service weapon, and he fired at one of the dogs, killing it,” Sergeant Larry Christian, a public information officer with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, told the outlet.
Riley’s mother, Jennifer Hubbell, told the outlet that she “just dropped to [her] knees” when she was notified of her daughter’s death.
Hubbell is still struggling to put the pieces together as she explained that Riley had highlighted a “change” in the dogs’ behavior shortly before the fatal attack.
“She said that they hadn’t always been that way,” Hubbell told the outlet.
The college student was an experienced dog-sitter and avid animal lover. She had previously babysat the family’s children for weeks on end and figured looking after the pit bulls “would be an okay situation,” Hubbell told the outlet.
It’s unclear if Riley was also looking after the family’s children when she was killed. The sheriff’s office said the homeowners were out of town at the time of the attack.
Riley was just six months away from earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Tyler. She chose to specialize in early childhood education, which Hubbell said was in part inspired by her younger brother’s experiences growing up with autism.
“Her K-3rd grade students adored her. She had a gift for making every child feel safe, special, and loved. Madison’s heart was made for that work,” Hubbell wrote in a post on GoFundMe.
A court hearing regarding the two surviving pit bulls is scheduled for Wednesday.
