Deadly dog attack leaves Miami Gardens neighborhood grieving, demanding safety

Doreen Richards Broadbelt enjoyed walking through her Miami Gardens neighborhood in the early morning to get to work. But, her family said, there was a problem that often bothered her: unleashed dogs.

The unthinkable happened Monday morning. Police say Broadbelt, 71, was mauled to death by at least one dog while she was walking to the nearby Walmart where she had worked for 13 years. Her body was found at the 1400 block of Northwest 196th Terrace in a field next to Norwood Elementary School. The disturbing attack shocked the neighborhood, where residents say unleashed dogs have become a serious safety concern.

At Broadbelt’s house, just a short walk away from where she died, her family is left horrified and grieving. She had four children and five grandchildren. Photos of them covered nearly every wall and table in her home.

“I was mortified,” said daughter-in-law Raquel Broadbelt. “That’s a horrific way for somebody to die.”

Neighbors told the Herald that they are scared and fed up with dogs roaming the streets late at night. James Saget, who lives by the elementary school, said he often sees a pack of dogs walking in the streets around 3 a.m. when he returns home from work.

Recently, Saget said, dogs killed his cat outside his home. He’s outraged to see the violence escalate, especially so close to a school.

“For them dogs to do that, that means they’re a threat to the community because they’re gonna attack again,” Saget said. “If we don’t get to the bottom of it, it’s gonna be somebody else.”

It is unclear as of Tuesday what type of dogs may have attacked Broadbelt or where they came from. Miami Gardens Police said the investigation is ongoing and the dogs involved in the attack and their owner have not been located. Police and animal control officers canvassed the area and swabbed residents’ dogs for DNA samples, CBS News Miami reported.

Heather Deleveaux, who was picking up her daughter from Norwood Elementary, said she had not heard of the incident because of the Labor Day holiday. Dog owners need to be more responsible, she said.

“I’m going to be more careful coming out. I don’t want to be attacked by any dog,” Deleveaux said. “It’s shocking, but I have encountered situations where I’ve seen persons just be free with their dogs. I do think that homeowners need to be more secure with their dogs.”

Several dogs were seen sitting and running in fenced yards outside of homes Tuesday afternoon in the neighborhood. As reporters walked by where Broadbelt’s body was found, a large black dog in a front yard barked loudly and ran along the fence. Near Broadbelt’s home, a very small dog snuck out from behind a fence and barked at reporters on the sidewalk.

Eunice Thomas, who lives across the street from where Broadbelt died, told reporters outside her home that she knew Broadbelt and spoke with her often. Thomas said her two dogs are sometimes allowed to walk around the yard but are otherwise chained in the back. Her dogs knew Broadbelt, she said, and would be at her feet as the two women chatted by her gate. The two never talked about dogs in the area, Thomas said.

Thomas said she was awakened Monday around 4 a.m. by a dog “barking, barking, barking, barking.” She knew Broadbelt would be walking by around that time, but, she said, she didn’t see anything when she looked outside.

“My heart went when I heard it was her,” Thomas said.

Aggressive dogs an ongoing issue

Broadbelt’s daughters said their mother often complained of dogs attacking her as she walked to work. Family members even gave her a stick to defend herself. Still, she enjoyed the exercise of walking to and from work, said Shelley Ann Williams, her daughter.

Williams, 50, recalled that her mother told her she spoke to a woman who had dogs that were pestering her. Williams did not know the dog owner’s name. In an interview with NBC Miami, Williams said she has seen dogs in the area “jump the fence.”

Residents have feared aggressive dogs for years, said Tommie Rhodriguez, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 23 years. On Tuesday, she walked to her grandkids’ school carrying her father’s old cane just in case. Years ago, she would walk her shih tzu while carrying a bat to protect herself and her dog from larger dogs.

Rhodriguez, who is Saget’s mother-in-law, said dogs have been attacking cats as recently as last week. While chasing a cat, she said, dogs jumped onto and scratched her car. Neighbors don’t know for certain where the dogs come from, Rhodriguez said, but she has her suspicions.

“I don’t think they strays,” she said. “I really believe they belong to somebody and they get out the peoples’ yards and they run in a pack.”

The news of Broadbelt’s death was extremely upsetting and scary, Rhodriguez said. Animal control needs to ride around the neighborhood to pick up unleashed dogs, she said.

“They really need to look for these dogs,” Rhodriguez said. “It’s crazy.”

At her mother’s home, doubled over in grief and exhaustion, Williams said she never anticipated her mother would die this way. Originally from Jamaica, Broadbelt was a “hard worker” and loving matriarch. “All those good characteristics, she has every one,” Williams said.

Broadbelt’s family said they hope no one else experiences what their mother suffered.

“It has to change. Something has to change,” Williams said, her head in her hands. “It’s supposed to be a safe community where anyone can walk.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM.