Posted 5:26 am Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Town Shocked by 10 Year Old's Death
Leveret’s Chapel is across Texas Highway 42 from the site where 10 year old Justin Clinton was attacked and killed by a pit bull in Leveret’s Chapel on Monday, June 15, 2009. Photo By Tom Turner
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
LEVERETT'S CHAPEL -- The peaceful community nestled between Kilgore and New London was devastated Monday when 10-year-old Justin Clinton was mauled to death by two pit bulls as he played near a friend's house.
Staff Writer
LEVERETT'S CHAPEL -- The peaceful community nestled between Kilgore and New London was devastated Monday when 10-year-old Justin Clinton was mauled to death by two pit bulls as he played near a friend's house.
As people drove by the area on County Road 133 just off Texas Highway 42, they shook their heads or held hands to their mouths as they passed the yellow crime scene tape marking the spot where Justin was attacked.
Rusk County sheriff's deputies said they were called to the location about 12:30 p.m. in reference to a boy being attacked by two dogs.
This home off of Rusk County Rd 133 in Leveret’s Chapel is the site of the attack on 10 year old Justin Clinton who was attacked and killed by a pit bull on Monday, June 15, 2009. Photo By Tom Turner
When deputies arrived, they were told the dogs were spotted dragging the boy down the road. One witness jumped from a car to pull the dogs off the boy in an effort to save his life. However, Justin was pronounced dead at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview.
"It's just so hard. Just really hard," Laird Hill Baptist Church Pastor Edwin Findley said as he left the home where the attack took place.
Findley said he knew both Justin and the child who lived at the home where the attack occurred.
"They were friends, and Justin would come up here and the two would play. Today, the other kid wasn't home and I guess Justin was just riding his skateboard up and down the street," he said.
Findley said Justin and the other child were Wednesday night regulars at his church, where youth gathered in a church atmosphere.
"We know God is in control of all things, but some things are just too tough to understand," he said.
Across the highway in the neighborhood where Justin was commonly seen, neighbors said they were mad, upset and trying to cope with the thoughts of a young life ended by vicious dogs.
"I'm mad on one hand and then on the other I wish people would keep these dangerous dogs locked up in the city and not out in the country," resident Jeffery Sanders said. "This is hard because I watched that boy go up and down this road every day. He was a real likeable kid and this hurts."
Family members declined to speak to the media Monday, but said they would make a comment after they had time to mourn the loss of their loved one.
A teenager at the scene was being comforted by a young woman as she shook her head and said, "I don't know why my baby brother had to die."
