A Marion County, Indianapolis Sheriff’s Office deputy Tamieka White lost her life protecting her eight-year-old son from a brutal dog attack. 

On Tuesday night, May 9, responding officers found White’s unresponsive body in the garage area of her home and pronounced her dead at the scene. Her son, who also had serious injuries, is expected to make a full recovery.

Upon their arrival, police found multiple dogs and were forced to shoot one described as “actively aggressive.” It was unclear if this was the same dog that attacked White and her son. Indianapolis Animal Care Services arrived at the scene and took away three live dogs, one dead dog, and a cat.

Tamieka White had been a dedicated member of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office since 2007, recently serving in the Judicial Enforcement Division. Local officials praised her courage, and her colleagues remembered her as a “beacon of light.”

The incident is just one of several fatal dog attacks across the United States this year. In early May, a nine-month-old baby was killed in Iowa, and a 49-year-old woman was seriously injured. January saw the death of a seven-year-old girl in Louisiana and a young boy in Idaho. In February, an elderly man died in Texas, and three others were injured. Recently, in March, a Pennsylvania woman was fatally attacked by a neighbor’s dog.