KILLEEN (September 1, 2009)—A pit bull that escaped from a fenced yard through an open gate and attacked a 9-year-old Killeen girl who was walking home from a school bus stop will be euthanized Thursday, officials said.

The girl was taken to Metroplex Hospital in Killeen with what police described as a serious wound after the dog attacked her just after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 900 block of Evergreen Street in Killeen near the intersection with West Bryce Drive, Killeen Police Department spokeswoman Carroll Smith said.

The dog bit her in the leg, Smith said.

She was treated for the leg injury she suffered in the attack and was released Tuesday night.

The girl, whose name was not released, was walking south on the west side of Evergreen on her way home after getting off the school bus, Smith said, when the dog, which lives in the neighborhood, escaped through the open gate of a fenced yard and charged her.

Alecia Tobar, 23, lives in the neighborhood.

She was on the phone when the dog attacked, heard the girl’s screams and rushed to try to help.

“I hung up the phone (and) ran across the street as fast as I could to try to help her,” she said.

“The dog just would not let go of her leg. He had her pinned to the ground,” she said.

“It all happened really fast."

A resident of the home from whose yard the dog escaped came out and pulled the dog off.

He picked up the girl and took her to her home on Southside Drive, police said.

From there, the girl was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The dog’s owner was out of town, but will be contacted, Smith said.

Police continued to investigate the attack Wednesday.

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