Service held for mauled child as donations grow

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As a funeral service was held for the Baldwin girl who was mauled to death by a pit bull, a GoFundMe account set up for her family has raised almost $30,000.

The funeral for Amiyah Dunston, 9, was at Zion Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 312 Grand Ave., in Freeport on Saturday.

The account set up on Nov. 9 totaled over $30,000 as of Monday. The GoFundMe account was set up by Nicole C. Robinson, who said on the page that she was Amiyah's godmother. The original amount sought was $15,000. Robinson said she set up the page to help defray the cost of the funeral.

"As Amiyah's godmother, the least I could do was campaign for her," Robinson posted. "We are overjoyed with the amount of donations that we have received in honor of Amiyah and appreciate all that are continuing to come in. We had no idea that we would raise the amount that we have so far, but at the same time Amiyah was loved by many."

Robinson noted that some of the money would go toward grief counseling for the family.

"Amiyah was a beautiful, smart, talented child who had a heart of gold," Robinson wrote. "She had an impact on all who met her. She brought out the best in us. It has been an honor to hold the title "Godmother" for her and now she is Our Guardian Angel."

According to Nassau County police, a pit bull attacked Amiyah, a fourth-grader at Plaza Elementary School, in the rear yard of a home on Holland Avenue in Elmont. When they arrived at the house at around 10:30 a.m., two 5th Precinct officers entered the rear yard and a third officer walked through the house and opened the back door. At that point, the dog released the girl and charged the officer. The officer fired several rounds, killing the dog, police said.

Amiyah, who was visiting the Holland Avenue home at the time of the incident, was taken to Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, where she died at 1:42 p.m

The tragic death of Amiyah seemed to have struck a chord with many who donated on the GoFundMe page. One donor, who gave a name only as "greg m" gave $5 and said "Wish I had more to give."

Police said there was no apparent criminality, although the investigation was continuing. But the owner of the dog, Carlyle Arnold, 29, of Elmont, was arrested on an unrelated charge of violating an order of protection.

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