Verified incident record · 2024-02-28

Knoxville teen hospitalized with severe facial injuries after dog attack

Police said an off-leash pit bull mix attacked the 14-year-old as he walked to a school-bus stop; the owner was cited.

Severe (hospitalized with severe facial injuries)Pit bull mixKnoxville, TN

Date2024-02-28 · About 7:30 a.m. EST

LocationCallaway Street near a school-bus stop; exact residence not pinned

Victim(s)14-year-old boy

Dogs involved1 dog

Injury severitySevere (hospitalized with severe facial injuries)

Breed attributionPit bull mixKnoxville Police communications staff described the dog as a pit bull mix in local reporting. BiteDB records this as police-attributed breed.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Knoxville Police said an off-leash pit bull mix attacked a 14-year-old boy as he walked to a nearby school-bus stop on Callaway Street. The teen suffered severe facial injuries and was taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Police said the owner was charged with a dangerous-dog Level 2 offense and improper restraint, and the dog was taken to Young-Williams Animal Center.

Legal-status note

Knoxville Police said the owner was charged with dangerous dog Level 2 and improper restraint. The dog was taken to Young-Williams Animal Center. Charges are allegations unless and until proven.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

BiteDB embeds media only when a source-hosted player is suitable for embedding. News photographs and footage remain with their publishers unless reuse rights are clear.

↗Original source mediaWVLT source-hosted report/videoPublisher-hosted video/reporting; media remains with the source.

Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

14-year-old hospitalized with severe face injuries after dog attack, Knoxville police sayLocal television reporting citing Knoxville Police Department · Published 2024-02-29 · Accessed 2026-08-27

WVLT, citing Knoxville Police Department communications manager Scott Erland, reported that an off-leash pit bull mix attacked a 14-year-old walking to a bus stop and caused severe facial injuries.

Open original source ↗

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.