A KingAlarm security officer who was attacked and bitten by a pit bull he was handling at the National Works Agency property on Hagley Park Road in St Andrew, yesterday afternoon, is now home recovering from his injuries.

“His injuries are not serious,” Delano Virgo, KingAlarm’s senior operations manager, told the Jamaica Observer late yesterday evening. “He’s home resting.”

Video of the guard being taken to a vehicle was posted on social media shortly after the incident.

KingAlarm Managing Director John Azar, who returned to the island a few hours after the incident and was immediately briefed by his team, said there were a number of officers at the location, one of whom had the dog.

“The animal is a leased animal, but it is a dog who has worked with this handler repeatedly in the past at this same location,” Azar told the Observer.

“We’re still trying to determine what led to the attack… We’ve spoken to the officer who was attacked and one of the other officers who was in close proximity to the attack,” Azar explained.

“After the attack our focus turned immediately to the safety of the officer, who was taken to hospital, and the safety of the dog. The officer was treated; we have filled his prescription and taken him home,” he added.

Azar and Virgo, who revealed that the security officer received bites on both legs, said it was unusual for a trained dog to attack its handler.

“It is not the norm, so that’s why we have to investigate,” said Virgo.

Added Azar: “We’re trying to determine what agitated the dog.”

Azar said that after the attack, the dog was “secured and given back to the owner from whom we lease these canines”.

— Vernon Davidson