Attack by pit bulls at Willard campus leaves six seriously injured

"would have been much worse had our staff not immediately sprung into action"

Twenty-one people were attacked by two pit bulls which came onto the playground of Willard Intermediate South on Tuesday, Dec. 20. Eighteen of those involved in the attack were students, while three were teachers. Six suffered injuries requiring medical attention.
Not all of those harmed during the incident were directly injured by the attacking canines. It was reported that many of those hurt were injured while running from the dogs, including scrapes, cuts, bruises and sprains.
“Not all 21 individuals sustained injuries caused by the dogs,” said Heather Harman-Michael, director of communications and public relations for the Willard School District. “The vast majority of the injuries were minor and as a result of fleeing from the animals.”
Harman-Michael also said none of those who were harmed in the attack required an overnight stay in a hospital.
“Everyone who was taken for additional medical assessment was back home the same night,” she said.
Attempts to reach Springfield-Greene County Animal Control regarding the dogs was unsuccessful as of press time, but it was reported that the dogs were voluntarily turned over to authorities by their owners and were euthanized. They tested negative for rabies.
The playground on which the dogs attacked the students is not fenced, Harman-Michael said, so the district encourages dog owners living near Willard campuses to keep their animals from roaming freely.
“There are several neighborhoods surrounding Willard Intermediate South,” she said. “The dogs were loose and came onto the playground. The Willard Intermediate Playground is not fenced. We are encouraging our neighbors to be cognizant of keeping their animals contained near all of our campuses as we continue to encourage outdoor play.”
Harman-Michael also said district leadership would be meeting to discuss how to prevent a future attack from happening.
“When any situation occurs,” she said, “we come together to discuss what happened, what we could have done differently, and what we can do in the future to prevent similar occurrences from happening. Those are the conversations we will be having in the days and weeks ahead.”
Harman-Michael also praised the teachers whom she said put themselves in harm’s way to protect the students on the playground, as well as other staff members who came to the playground to aid those harmed.
“Truly, the most significant piece of this story is the heroics of our teachers and staff, who reacted quickly and put themselves in danger to protect our students,” she said. “As frightening as the situation was, it would have been much worse had our staff not immediately sprung into action. We had district administration, nursing staff, and counselors respond from across the district immediately. We cannot thank the Intermediate South staff who responded to the situation enough, as well as other district staff who were on site quickly to assist.”