‘I LOVE Y’ALL’

11-Year-Old Boy’s Scalp Ripped Off in Horrific Pit Bull Mauling

Justin Gilstrap is recovering and in good spirits after undergoing several surgeries.

A young boy who was dragged off his bike and into a ditch by three pit bulls is recovering in a Georgia hospital after losing an ear and more than 70 percent of his scalp in the attack. In a video recorded from his hospital bed last week, Justin Gilstrap, 11, can be heard saying, “Hey, everybody. I love y’all. I just want you to know, I’m OK.” The boy was rushed into emergency surgery and was intubated in a pediatric intensive care unit, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his mother, Ericka Gilstrap. Several more surgical procedures followed, with more expected to happen in the coming days as his doctors wait to see if they can save his other ear, Gilstrap told The Augusta Chronicle. “I’m hoping he’s not going to have PTSD,” she told the newspaper last week, explaining that her son was awake and talking in small intervals. “They did warn me that he probably will need some therapy, just to get him back to where he was. He’s sedated, so I don’t know what he remembers, but one time when he woke up, he had tears coming down his face because he started crying.”