Toddler bitten by 2 pit bull mixes in Brooklyn Park backyard dies

A 3-year-old boy attacked by two pit bull mixes in Brooklyn Park has died, officials said Tuesday.

Covil Allen died Monday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said, the same day his organs were offered for donation for transplant at HCMC.

A recent court filing disclosed how bystanders in the backyard of a Brooklyn Park home armed themselves with anything in their reach on July 19 to fend off the dogs as they gravely wounded the toddler and seriously injured his mother. Police arrived and fatally shot both animals.

Police Inspector Elliot Faust said the Brooklyn Park Police Department is “wrapping up the investigation” with the intention of sending findings to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges in connection with the attack at the home in the 7500 block of N. Brooklyn Park Drive.

At HCMC late Monday, Covil was recognized with an “honor walk,” in concert with the organ donation.

“Tons of family and friends showed up to support” his parents, Natasha Palacios Vega and Charles Allen of Champlin, during the walk, according to a posting on the online fundraising campaign launched to help the family cope with expenses related to the July 19 incident.

“Hospital staff lined the halls with many people who knew and loved Covil including some of the Brooklyn Park Police Department who help rescue them,” the posting continued.

Another young son in the family who was in the backyard at the time of the attack “even got to meet his hero who carried him to safety,” the posting noted.

A follow-up posting Tuesday said Covil’s heart went to a 1-year-old girl, a donation that “is the most beautiful thing to come from this tragedy, and we couldn’t be happier that his heart was able to save someone.”

According to court records:

Covil and his mother were at the home, where dogs were for sale. One of the dogs attacked Covil, and a second joined in.

“There were adults in the area that started to defend the 3-year-old by using hammers and pick axes to get the dogs off the 3-year-old,” one filing read. First responders arrived and gave immediate medical attention to Covil, who was taken by ambulance to the hospital with critical injuries.

Faust specified that the dogs are American bullies, a mix of pit bull and American bulldog. Faust described these two as “the XL variety,” and he added that “this breed is banned in the U.K.”

Faust said conversations are underway with city leaders and elected officials about the problem of dog attacks.

A few days later in Brooklyn Park, a 7-year-old girl was attacked around 4:40 p.m. in the 7500 block of N. Janelle Avenue, police said. The girl suffered superficial injuries, according to police. Officers killed the dog when it then tried to attack a boy, police said. Officials said the dog was loose when it was attacked.