21 students, teachers injured after dog attack at school playground

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Police said more than 20 people were hurt after a pair of dogs got onto a Missouri playground Tuesday afternoon and attacked students and teachers.

>> Read more trending news

Eighteen students and three teachers were injured in the attack at Willard Intermediate South, but police described most of the injuries to the Springfield News-Leader as minor. Three teachers and three students had bites, scratches or other injuries requiring medical attention, while most of the other injuries were caused not by the dogs, but by the chaos that followed.

“I heard someone scream as they fell to the ground, and their jacket was thrown off by a dog,” Jared Garza, a fifth-grader, told KYTV. “Another one of my friends came up and kicked the dogs away, and then other people started getting attacked too.”

The two dogs, described as pit bull mixes, live in a house near the school and got onto the campus during an afternoon recess, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Animal control took the dogs into custody and euthanized them, according to the newspaper.

Animal control officers told KYTV that the owners voluntarily surrendered the dogs. Officers said that one dog was not vaccinated for rabies and the owners could not provide proof of vaccination for the other.

The playground where the children were having recess was not fenced in, KYTV reported.

A spokesperson for the school district told the Springfield News-Leader that the school would have indoor recess on Wednesday, which is the final day of school before winter break.

©2022 Cox Media Group