Tarentum man charged after dogs attacked 3 people on Halloween

TARENTUM, Pa. — A Tarentum man is facing several charges after police said his dogs ran loose on Halloween and attacked three people.

Brandon Baynes, 36, of Tarentum is charged with 3 counts of recklessly endangering another person and animal neglect. According to a criminal complaint, the dogs did not have adequate food and water and were kept in “deplorable” conditions.

Neighbors described that Halloween night as horrific and said the dogs were out for blood.

>>> Neighbors say dogs involved in Tarentum attack on Halloween have been an issue in the past

Cell phone video taken from inside a neighbor’s house showed Shawn Flynn running out of his friend’s house to help a man, Michael Shutack, who was being viciously attacked by two Pit bulls when the dogs suddenly turned on him.

“Instinct took over,” Flynn said. “I ran out this house. I didn’t have a plan. I looked to see to grab anything. I grabbed this old carpet and ran up and tried to get them off. Eventually, they broke away and two started going after me.”

Flynn said he was still traumatized by that night.

“If I hear a dog bark, I jump,” he said.

Police said three Pit bulls broke through the screen door of their 6th Avenue home and chased after trick-or-treaters in the street.

Their neighbor, Shutack got the kids out of harm’s way when two of the dogs started biting his face, neck and legs.

Joyce Hernandez, her boyfriend Chuck and their friend Shawn Flynn jumped in to help.

“Once the dogs started biting him, we noticed they kept getting closer and closer to his face,” Hernandez said. “He was getting mauled by these dogs. My friend Shawn came out. My boyfriend Chuck came out and threw the PlayStation at these dogs so these dogs could run and leave this man alone. They weren’t stopping.”

The dogs then targeted Flynn, sinking their teeth into his hands and leg.

“I got about to the stairs, and they started tearing at me,” Flynn said showing the stitches on his hands. “I couldn’t really do anymore. I could barely get on the stairs.”

Hernandez said her boyfriend got the dogs off Flynn and they pulled him to safety.

“That’s when Chuck threw the chair and the dogs released, and we pulled him inside the house,” she said.

Hernandez used clothes as a tourniquet on Flynn after he was attacked.

“My friend Shawn was laying there in the living room bleeding,” Hernandez said. “I cut his pants, trying to figure out where this blood’s coming from. I put about five tourniquets on him and tied him, so he stopped bleeding as much as possible, and it was just panic.”

The dogs bit a third person before officers shot and killed one of them as it charged at them.

Meantime, Hernandez said her friend, boyfriend and neighbor are brave and risked their lives that night to save others.

“Everybody got together, and I want to bring light to that,” she said.

Flynn and the other two victims were taken to the hospital.

Flynn has multiple stitches in his hands and wounds on his chin and thigh. Despite his injuries, he said he would do it all over again.

“Probably,” Flynn said. “I didn’t think about it the first time so if happened again I probably wouldn’t think about it again.”

A GoFundMe has been set up for Flynn to help him with medical expenses.

A GoFundMe has also been set up for Shutack after he needed surgery on his face. His family is asking for help with his medical bills and other expenses.

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