Pit bull attacks family as they unloaded groceries from car in the Rockaways

24/7 Live New York City New Jersey Long Island Northern Suburbs Connecticut PETS & ANIMALS Pit bull attacks family as they unloaded groceries from car in the Rockaways By Brian Shlonsky Tuesday, July 28, 2026 9:41PM Brian Shlonsky has the latest on the attack ROCKAWAYS, Queens (WABC) -- A pit bull attacked four family members, two of them children, while they were unloading groceries from their car in Queens.

Police said it happened around 9:47 p.m. at Beach 62 Street and Thursby Avenue in the Arverne area of Queens.

"I ran out and see like everyone else, my family members, were screaming," said Janmajoy 'Sam' Samrat. "I saw a brown pit bull dog, and it came out of nowhere when they were getting out of their car and it attacked everybody."

Samrat said his wife's family is in town from Canada, including the 16-year-old girl and the 11-year-old boy. He said they were unloading groceries from the car when the dog attacked unprovoked.

"The mother and her brother, they got bitten the most severely. There was blood everywhere," Samrat said.

According to police, the 11-year-old boy suffered injuries to his right thigh, the 16-year-old girl had injuries to her neck, right thigh, and left leg, a 37-year-old man had injuries to his left hand, and a 42-year-old woman suffered injuries to her private area.

Police said EMS responded and transported the 16-year-old teen to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in stable condition. The 11-year-old boy, 37-year-old man and 42-year-old woman were taken to St. Johns Episcopal Hospital South Shore by EMS in stable condition.

As of Tuesday evening, police said there had been no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Samrat said a man whom he believes to be the dog's owner grabbed it and left without stopping to help.

One day after the alleged attack, groceries and blood spatter could be seen along the sidewalk in the neighborhood.

Samrat said the family is resting and trying to recover both physically and emotionally.

"The mom has been vomiting, like 3-4 times already, every one of them are sleeping, they are suffering for the child, it will be a traumatic experience, I hope they don't hate New York," Samrat said.

According to the family, the whole reason they were visiting from Canada was to see the children's grandfather, who was already in the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

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