S. Elgin sergeant hailed for saving woman, son in pit bull attack

A South Elgin Police officer is being hailed a hero after he stopped a pit bull from possibly killing a 41-year-old woman and further harming a 5-year-old boy during an attack Saturday.

Sgt. Craig Steurer grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck while the pit bull was biting the woman’s arm and dragged the dog away, South Elgin Police Sgt. Mike Doty said Tuesday.

Steurer then shot the dog after it growled and threatened to attack the woman at the victims’ home again on Churchill Court at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

Doty said Steurer and other officers were called to the home after the pit bull attacked the 5-year-old. Upon arrival, Doty said, the officers heard the mother call for help, and entered the home through an attached garage.

Officers found the woman bleeding and motionless on the floor as the pit bull was biting the woman’s arm, Doty said. Steurer grabbed the dog by its neck, Doty said, causing the dog to release its bite, and he dragged the dog away from the woman.

The dog began growling and threatening to attack again, so Steurer shot the dog and held it down until it quit moving, Doty said.

The woman and child were taken by ambulance to Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, Doty said, and later transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Both are in stable condition with significant arm injuries, Doty said.

The dog, which lived in the home but was owned by a roommate of the victim, was taken to Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin for rabies testing.

“The officers did an outstanding job,” Doty said. “ ... Specifically, Sgt. Steurer did an amazing job of preventing the dog from taking that woman’s life and from attacking anyone else in the home.”