Dog Attack During Recess Sends 12 Oklahoma Kids To Hospital

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — A dozen children were injured Monday when a dog attacked them on the playground during recess, officials at an elementary school in Oklahoma City said. None of the children were critically injured, but they were taken to a hospital for treatment, according to media reports.

Twenty-eight third- and fourth-graders at Fillmore Elementary School were on the playground about 12:40 p.m. Monday when the dog, described as a pit bull mix, attacked. Nine of them were bitten, but emergency officials described their injuries as superficial. Five of the children were taken to a local hospital by ambulance, and the other seven were taken to the hospital by their parents.

Three teachers were on the playground when the dog began attacking kids. One of them, special education teacher Lee Hughes, tackled the dog in the hallway and held it to the floor until police arrived.

“He’s our hero,” Fillmore Principal Susan Martin Rachels told The Oklahoman. However, Hughes said he didn’t do anything special and that “everybody did just what they were supposed to do.”

The dog attack lasted about five minutes before Hughes was able to restrain the animal.

No teachers were injured, television station KOCO reported. The news station said several other children escaped injury by running away.

It’s unclear who owns the dog, which school officials said they had never seen before. Oklahoma City Animal Welfare took custody of the dog.

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