Infant who died in Johnston County after being attacked by 2 family dogs identified

A 10-month-old girl died Tuesday night after being attacked by two family dogs, according to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the baby as Malia Scott Winberry.

Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene found her father, Scott Winberry, rendering aid to her.

The incident happened on Riparian Court in Willow Spring after the father stepped out of the house to speak with a neighbor, Sheriff Steve Bizzell told The News & Observer.

Emergency Medical Services workers could not revive the child, he said.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said.

Bizzell said the father is a law enforcement officer in Wake County, and the mother works for Johnston County’s EMS. He said he did not know whether the mother was home during the incident, or at what time it occurred.

Johnston County Animal Services took the two rottweilers to the animal shelter, he added.

This is the second time in a month that a child in the Triangle has died from a dog attack. On April 28, a 7-year-old girl in Garner died and her mother was injured while caring for their neighbors’ dogs.

Monday, the Garner police chief denied the owners’ dangerous dog permit application, which would have allowed them to keep the dogs, The N&O reported. If approved, the owners would have needed to notify local authorities they had dangerous animals, but the Garner police chief said the dogs were too dangerous to be returned.

This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 9:37 PM.