A New York woman, allegedly high on “bath salts”, was killed after police tasered her. Onlookers photographed Pamela McCarthy, who was attacking her three-year-old son.

The 35-year-old went into cardiac arrest after a run in with state troopers outside her apartment in Munnsville on Tuesday. The police were called to the scene at 7.45pm with reports that McCarthy was punching and choking her toddler and trying to strangle her pit-bull. A neighbor then photographed her running towards her terrified son, who sought refuge with his father, Jason Williams.

McCarthy’s attack is just one in a spate of violent incidents reported across the United States involving the drugs “bath salts”, a synthetic drug, known as “the new LSD”.

Last month, Rudy Eugene, who was believed to be on “bath salts” chewed off homeless man, Ronald Poppo’s face, in Miami. In Louisiana, Carl Jacquneaux also bit off a piece of his neighbor’s cheek. Earlier this week a North Miami man stripped naked and exposed himself to a three-year-old girl while on the drug.

In fact these attacks, thought to be the blame of this legal drug, are becoming so prevalent that the media is now labeling them under the term “Zombie Apocalypse”.

A neighbor who witnessed McCarthy’s attack told NewsChannel 9 WSYR “She was... just running back and forth around the street and she got a hold of one of her dogs and she was rolling around on the ground with her legs wrapped around it - she was strangling the dog.”

Another said: 'She was definitely on something. Who does that?'

When the police arrived McCarthy was described as “violently combative” and growled at the police, and even tried to bite one of the officers.

State trooper Christopher Budlong tried to subdue her using pepper spray, but it had no effect. He then used a taser on the woman but was unable to handcuff her. She was then taken into custody and later went into cardiac arrest.

Her boyfriend Williams said she had a history of drug abuse but he was shocked by her behavior. Their son luckily escaped the attack with minor injuries and is now in the custody of William’s mother.

He said, “I told her mom, "She needs help'," Williams told WSYR. 'Everyone says to get rid of her because I tell all mean stories. I got nothing good to say. I love her…love her to death…then I seen that.”

Here’s the ABC News report:

Here’s the CNYCentralNews eyewitness report: