Girl, 1, Killed By Dog In Illinois: Reports

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A 1-year-old Springfield girl has died after she was bitten by the family dog, police said.

Family members said toddler A’myrikal Hull was bitten on the head March 18 after getting too close to the dog's food bowl, WICS reported. She was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:36 p.m.

Family friend Cory Painter said the dog was a pocket bully — or a pit bull and Patterdale terrier mix — and had never been violent with people before. The dog, owned by the family for four years, was taken to Sangamon County Animal Control for observation.

Painter also started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay funeral expenses for A’myrikal, who had just celebrated her first birthday on March 7. He described her as "all smiles" and "full of life."

The fund had a goal of $5,000, which was quickly exceeded.

A’myrikal's death comes after at least six fatal dog attacks in Illinois in 2020.

Those cases involved a fatal dog attack in Plainfield in February 2020, a dog attack that killed a woman in Lake County in May and the death of a 70-year-old Cook County woman mauled by her four dogs in June. A 17-month-old toddler was killed by a pit bull during a Fourth of July party in Joliet, and a 46-year-old Joliet man died after being attacked by a pit bull in December.

Outside the Chicago area, a fatal dog attack was reported in St. Clair County, Illinois, in August, when a 61-year-old Belleville man was reportedly killed by two dogs owned by his stepson.