The calls flooded into 911 as a woman lay unconscious in a back alley in West Baltimore. Several pit bulls roamed freely.

Will Fortune, 42, lives on the 1900 block of Clifton Street, near Mondawmin Mall. But he was up the block at a friend’s house when he stepped outside and heard the commotion. Shortly before 9 p.m., as the sun began to set June 14, he set out to figure out what was going on.

He saw a dog’s face covered with blood and knew someone had been attacked. Down the street, a 54-year-old neighbor, Sheila Jones, had been mauled. Police say she was found dead at the scene.

Moments later, Fortune saw the dog jump onto a 67-year-old woman who also lives in a house on the block. He sprang into action to help.

“I stepped in to help the other neighbor, and then I ended up getting attacked. … I kicked the dog in the back of the leg to take the dog’s attention off her to put on me. Then the dog tried to go for my neck, but I put my arm out,” Fortune said in an interview.

Fortune said another dog, which he did not see, pounced and bit the back of his other arm. He said he raised his arms with both dogs hanging from them and screamed, “Somebody shoot these damn dogs!”

Baltimore Police officers were called to the 2000 block of North Pulaski Street just before 9 p.m. for the dog attack, authorities said.

“I hear people screaming, ‘That dog just killed a woman!’ So I was scared for my life because I thought they were going to try and kill me now,” Fortune said, adding that police Tased the dogs to get them off him before he received medical attention.

Police searched for the dogs in the dark with their flashlights.

“They just ran down the alley,” shouted one officer, referring to the 2100 block of Fulton Street, adjacent to Clifton.

Officers surrounded the dogs, then fired their weapons at 9:16 p.m., according to police scanner transcriptions. Police killed one of the dogs, and the other dog was taken into custody by animal control.

Though two dogs were captured, many residents along Clifton — the street where Jones, Fortune and the 67-year-old woman all live — say others remain at large.

Jones’ death is “still being investigated by detectives,” Baltimore Police said in a statement.

Police said they’ll continue to work with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute anyone who may be responsible. The 67-year-old victim was treated for her injuries at a local hospital and released.

While dog bites are common, fatal attacks occur less frequently. Nationally, there were an average of 43 fatal dog attacks a year from 2011 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Baltimore City’s health department could not immediately provide statistics on the number of dog attacks that have occurred outside of a home.

A fatal dog attack in Baltimore was last reported in 2013, when a Northeast Baltimore woman was attacked and killed by a pit bull terrier that she owned. More recently, in 2023, a 7-year-old boy was attacked by a dog, also in West Baltimore. The boy was taunting the dog, which then bit him on his arms and legs, according to WJZ. His injuries were non-fatal.

After the attack in West Baltimore last week, neighbors expressed concern about pit bulls. However, they are not a specific breed, according to the Animal Foundation.

The term is used to refer to mixed-breed dogs with muscular bodies and broad heads. They are considered a general type and are mistakenly associated with innate aggressive behaviors.

“No breed of dog is naturally more aggressive than any other,” according to Kennel to Couch, a non-profit that seeks to rescue pit bulls.

Marvin Cheatham, president of a nearby neighborhood association, said he believes the dogs belonged to someone in the neighborhood. He added that neighbors often walk dogs around the neighborhood on a leash. He estimates there are about 30 pit bulls in the area.

“They are not stray dogs … they’re making money on these dogs,” Cheatham said. “They do fight them and they do sell them.”