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Police: Pit Bull Attacks 11-Month-Old Baby Girl In New Jersey

NUTLEY, N.J. (CBSNewYork)-- A baby girl in New Jersey is recovering after getting attacked by a pit bull right in front of her parents.

Police are crediting their neighbors for stepping in and saving the child's life, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.

An afternoon walk in Nutley turned frightening for the parents and their 11-month-old daughter in a stroller. When they got to Walnut Street and Satterthwaite Avenue, police said a pit bull suddenly went after them last month and latched onto the child.

"Out of nowhere I went inside to shower and I heard screaming," Ahmed El Karrimy, a neighbor, told CBS2.

He said he grabbed his own dog's wire leash and then put it on the pit bull's neck while neighbors called 911.

"We held the dog, I kept it up so it didn't bite anybody and put it in the police car," he said.

The baby's leg was badly bleeding. Investigators said she had to get 70 stitches.

Police said the dog in question somehow escaped from inside the house across the street. CBS2 tried getting a comment from the owner, but no one answered the door.

Neighbors say they've never seen the dog be aggressive.

"Usually everyone is like  'I wish my dog was like their dog,'" Karrimy said.

The dog is in quarantine and cannot go back to the home for now. Animal control is investigating the attack and will decide this pet's fate.

"We don't want another incident like this to happen in our town. I'm pushing myself to make sure that animal doesn't return back to that house," Nutley Mayor Alphonse Petracco said.

Petracco said the baby's parents, who declined an interview, don't want the dog to return to the property either.

Neighbors in the community said they don't feel families are safe after the attack.

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