Pit bull bites face of 16-month-old, babysitter

A 16-month-old boy was bitten in the face by a pit bull who attacked him in the laundry room of an East Harlem apartment building, authorities said.

The boy’s babysitter, Allison Riley, 47, was also attacked by the animal, the New York Daily News reported.

The attack took place in a building on E 101st Street, according toCBS New York.

The boy, identified as only Jayce in the Daily News report, was trying to pet the unattended dog when it suddenly snapped, Riley’s daughter said.

“(Jayce is) very playful, he wanted to touch the dog,” Taylah, 17, told the paper. “The dog reacted to it in a bad way … I guess he snapped at it.”

The dog bit Riley when she intervened on behalf of the boy, she said. Another person had to help pry the dog off of the woman’s leg.

“I hit the dog a couple of times trying to, you know, get him loose, and that didn’t work,” that person told CBS New York. “I grabbed a bag, wrapped it around the dog’s head. I knew if he didn’t have air, he would have to let go.”

Both Riley and the young victim were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, ABC New York reported. The boy reportedly needed stitches on his lip.