James Gibson Killed in Washington Park Dog Attack

James L. Gibson, 68, of East St. Louis, died after a group of dogs attacked him while he was working at a rental property in Washington Park, Illinois. A new police timeline says the same group had bitten a woman about two hours earlier.

The St. Clair County coroner identified Gibson after the August 27 attack. Washington Park police said officers were sent to the 2100 block of North 49th Street at about 10:44 p.m. Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police reported an earlier bite call

Washington Park police told First Alert 4 that another caller had reported a woman bitten by the same group of dogs roughly two hours before Gibson was attacked. Police said they requested assistance from St. Clair County Animal Services after both calls.

Animal Services told the station that it did not learn about the incidents until Friday afternoon. The two statements create an unresolved response timeline. Buddylio is presenting both accounts rather than deciding which agency received or transmitted information at a particular time.

Officers encountered at least five dogs

Police said responding officers encountered at least five dogs. Several were shot after becoming aggressive toward officers, and the group then moved toward a wooded area. The public reporting reviewed by Buddylio did not establish a final count of dogs captured or killed.

The reports also did not establish the legal owner of the dogs. Neighbors described seeing dogs in the area before the attack, but those accounts do not prove ownership or identify every dog involved. Buddylio is not assigning a breed because the official accounts cited here do not provide a verified breed identification.

The remaining dogs were still being sought

Police and county animal services were working to locate the remaining dogs when the latest reports were published. Residents were asked to report sightings and avoid approaching a group of loose dogs. The search status may change quickly as animals are located or ownership information is confirmed.

A photograph or video showing dogs elsewhere in the neighborhood would not by itself establish that they were involved. One national report discussed older street imagery from the area but stated that it could not verify whether the dogs pictured were the animals in this case.

What remains under investigation

The public record available on August 30 left several important questions open, including ownership, the number and status of the remaining dogs, and how the earlier bite report moved between agencies. Those questions require official records and should not be filled with assumptions from social media.

Buddylio will update this page if police, the coroner or St. Clair County releases a material change. Readers can find other sourced public safety and animal welfare developments in Animal News.

How we reported this: Buddylio reviewed the named sources, checked the organizations and figures shown above, and added context for animal lovers. Any illustration is labeled and does not depict the actual animals or scene. This report was checked on August 30, 2026. Ownership and the status of the remaining dogs had not been publicly resolved. Articles are editorial content, not veterinary advice.