Flatiron pizzeria worker critically mauled by unleashed dog

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A worker was attacked and critically injured by a pit bull during a fight with the dog's owner at a Flatiron District pizzeria on Monday night, according to police and the shop's manager.

The 50-year-old victim was working at Roma Pizza at 146 Fifth Ave. around 9:50 p.m. when a 35-year-old man walked in with his dog asking for food, police said.

A manager for the pizzeria told 1010 WINS that the shop was getting ready to close when the man entered with the unleashed pit bull. When the worker told him to take the dog outside, it sparked a fight that led to the owner punching the worker, the manager said by phone.

The assault ended up behind the counter and then spilled out onto the sidewalk. The dog repeatedly bit the worker, who was left bleeding profusely on the ground, where he was then kicked by the owner, according to the manager.

“The dog was biting his arm, his hand, around his chest area, and that guy was just punching him and kicking him,” the manager said.

NYPD officers responding to a 911 call about an assault found the victim with wounds from multiple dog bites, police said.

EMS transported him to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was listed in critical condition.

The dog's owner was taken into custody and facing various charges. The dog was being held by the NYPD at the 13th precinct stationhouse.

Police said an investigation was ongoing Tuesday.