WASHINGTON PARK — An East ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ man died after being mauled by multiple dogs Thursday night, police said.
St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said James L. Gibson, 68, was pronounced dead in the 2100 block of North 49th Street in Washington Park at about 11:35 p.m.
Officers were dispatched to the area at about 10:44 p.m. after receiving a report that a man had been bitten. Emergency medical personnel responded, but Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release from Washington Park Police.
It was unclear Friday who owns the dogs.
Ashley Jett, director of St. Clair County Animal Services, said she was expecting an incident report from police.
The dogs were not being held by the county, she said. If an owner is not identified, the dogs will be captured, held in quarantine for 10 days and then euthanized. If an owner is identified, a judge’s order is required to capture and euthanize the animals, Jett said.
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Washington Park Police Chief Tony Tomlinson was not immediately available Friday when contacted by the Belleville News-Democrat.
Kent P. Recklein, 67, a resident of Caseyville, was killed in May 2025 when three pit bull terriers attacked him. It’s the only other fatal dog attack during Jett’s 19-year tenure in St. Clair County.
