Two elderly individuals had been mauled, one fatally, by a small pack of canine that attacked them and first responders who got here to their assist Friday in San Antonio, officers mentioned.
Two different individuals had been bitten — one on the hand and the opposite, a metropolis hearth division captain, on the leg, San Antonio Hearth Chief Charles Hood mentioned at a information convention Friday. Each are anticipated to get better.
The person who was killed was believed to be about 80 years outdated, and the woman, who could have been his spouse, was critically injured, Hood mentioned.
They might have been visiting from out of city and didn’t seem like linked to the residence the place the canine lived, officers mentioned.
The homeowners of the canine weren’t recognized, however the residence has been the goal of dog-related complaints in current years, officers mentioned.
It appeared the three canine, described as American Staffordshire Terriers, had been off-leash and roaming exterior their proprietor’s property when the attack occurred on a sidewalk about 1:43 p.m., in keeping with Hood and Animal Care Providers Director Shannon Sims.
The primary metropolis hearth rescue crews on scene noticed a bloodied man being dragged round a nook by canine, Hood mentioned. The primary responders fended off the canines with pickaxes and pike poles, he mentioned.
“This isn’t one thing regular for us,” the chief mentioned. “We don’t normally present up and need to defend sufferers from animals.”
The person was rushed to a hospital, the place he was pronounced lifeless, Hood mentioned. The woman was additionally hospitalized and was aware and in essential situation, he mentioned.
The canine, two females and a male, are in custody of Animal Care Providers, Sims mentioned.
They had been anticipated to remain there till the companies’ investigation of the attack was accomplished, he mentioned.
An Animal Care Providers investigation will decide if the homeowners are prosecuted. Officers on Friday wouldn’t say what fees they may face.
Animal Care Providers employees seized all of the canine at a property believed to be residence of the three terriers, Sims mentioned. One of many three didn’t seem like concerned in the mauling however was rounded up, he mentioned.
In 2021, canine from the identical residence had been impounded by Animal Care Providers after “combat” in which minor biting was famous, Sims mentioned. The canine had been quarantined however then freed as a result of a case wasn’t doable with out an affidavit from a witness.
Over the past two years, canine from the identical residence have been the topic of stories of unleashed canines displaying aggressive conduct, he mentioned.
Hood known as the incident “horrific” and mentioned firefighters took duty for safeguarding neighbors and themselves from the canine.
