‘He didn’t deserve this’: Family heartbroken after 4-year-old boy killed in dog attack

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WVIR/Gray News) - A 4-year-old Virginia boy with his whole life ahead of him was killed in a dog attack. As the investigation into the incident continues, the boy’s family is speaking out amid their grief.

Days after 4-year-old Garcia Welch was killed in a dog attack, his family is sharing memories of the little boy they lost as they continue to mourn.

“Garcia is just someone that if you met him, you loved him,” said the boy’s aunt, Cynthia Russ. “He lit up the room. His smile was just amazing.”

Garcia loved painting, playing video games with his older brother and music. His mother, Cathleen Russ, recalled the times she and her son would walk to the bus stop to get his brother, 11-year-old Gabriel Welch.

Garcia’s aunt remembered how friendly he was.

“He was a beautiful kid. He was fun and sweet and kind, and he made friends everywhere. And he just — he didn’t deserve this,” Cynthia Russ said.

The attack

Garcia was killed in a dog attack around 4:40 p.m. Sunday along a highway in Louisa County.

Deputies with the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene to find Garcia seriously injured with an American bully still attacking him. The sheriff’s office said deputies had to put the dog down to stop the attack.

Garcia was taken to a landing zone for air medical transport but was pronounced dead before he could be flown to a hospital.

Cynthia Russ said the family is still trying to understand what happened that afternoon.

“There’s a lot of confusion about how this could happen — why this happened. Still a lot of confusion about that,” she said.

Cathleen Russ said Garcia was at his father’s home for the weekend. Recently separated, she and Barry Welch had a formal custody agreement. On Sunday, she received a call from a non-family member about the incident.

Gabriel was also at his father’s home on Sunday and witnessed the events. Cynthia Russ described a conversation with the 11-year-old later that night where he claimed he “tried to stop it.”

“I talked to my nephew that night, and he was just crying and screaming,” she recalled.

The sheriff’s office says its investigation remains active. Investigators have not publicly confirmed all the circumstances leading up to the attack.

A life cut short

Before his death, Garcia was beginning a new chapter as a preschool student at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.

Although he had only recently started attending the school, Principal Jesse Cleaver said Garcia had already made an impression on those around him. In a message sent to families Monday, Cleaver acknowledged the little boy’s death and expressed condolences to those grieving his loss.

“This is heartbreaking news for our Patriot family. Though Garcia was just beginning his time at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, he quickly made a meaningful impression on those around him with his kind, friendly, and respectful personality,” Cleaver wrote.

The school division said counseling and support would be available to students and staff affected by his death.

For Garcia’s family, preschool was one of many experiences they had been looking forward to sharing with him as he grew older.

“He just had so much ahead of him, and we were just excited to see it,” Cynthia Russ said.

Community offers support

Garcia’s family is now working to arrange his funeral. In the days since the little boy’s death, friends, neighbors and people the family had never met have reached out to offer support.

“We’ve been so grateful for just the community. We didn’t know what to do. We were lost. I feel like we still are. Friends, friends of friends, people we didn’t know, approached us very early on and wanted to help,” Cynthia Russ said.

A GoFundMe was created by a family friend to help Cathleen Russ with expenses. The fundraiser initially sought $20,000, but by early Thursday, it had raised nearly $30,000.

Cynthia Russ said the family has been grateful for the people who have stepped forward, including those who did not personally know Garcia.

“We are all going through a horrendous trauma together,” she said. “Our family is not the same anymore, and it just can’t be. It’s not whole anymore.”