Photo Courtesy of Atlanta Black Star
On Monday, Lorenzo Cardenas of Marion County was charged with involuntary manslaughter and animal penalty for being the owner of a dangerous animal that attacks and injures a human after seven-year-old Shamar Sherif Jackson was killed after being attacked by his dogs.
WSAV reported that Cardenas’s dogs attacked Shamar on June 13, close to an intersection in Marion, South Carolina.
According to authorities and a statement from the child’s father, Carnell Jackson, the first-grader and his older brother were taking a walk around the neighborhood looking for their chihuahua when the tragic incident happened.
The dogs allegedly escaped through a hole in the fence.
“They couldn’t get away because it was so many dogs coming from different directions,” the father explained.
The other boy managed to escape, but the boys’ father said Shamar wasn’t as lucky and was stripped naked by the dogs and killed.
In turn, the family of the young child was left devastated.
Jackson said that Cardenas told his Shamar’s mother not to touch him until authorities had arrived.
“How are you going to tell her to leave her child there?” Jackson questioned.
That following Monday, The S.C. Law Enforcement Division arrived at Cardenas’s home with a cage and removed the dogs from the scene as neighbors and family members of the victim observed.
Locals told the news outlet that the dogs often wreaked havoc and had escaped their yard frequently, while others said they’ve even harassed and chased neighbors.
“It hurts, trust me,” Jackson told WSAV during a phone interview. “I did not know that when I went to work that day, I would come home, and my son would be gone.”
Related Story: Four-Year-Old Elayah Brown Dead After Being Mauled By Dog In Texas
WMBF reported that Cardenas had been allowed a bond of $50,000 on Wednesday, June 30.
In regards to the tragic incident, Cardenas told the court, “I also feel that it’s a tragedy. I’m very sorry. I never thought that would happen.”