Dogs kill elderly man, critically injure woman and bite 2 others in Texas attack

[Who needs guns?]

Two elderly people were mauled, one fatally, by a small pack of dogs that
attacked them and first responders who came to their aid Friday in San
Antonio, officials said.

Two other people were bitten — one on the hand and the other, a city fire
department captain, on the leg, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said
at a news conference Friday. Both are expected to recover.

The man who was killed was believed to be about 80 years old, and the
woman, who may have been his wife, was critically injured, Hood said.

They may have been visiting from out of town and didn’t appear to be
connected to the residence where the dogs lived, officials said.

The owners of the dogs were not identified, but the residence has been the
target of dog-related complaints in recent years, officials said.

It appeared the three dogs, described as American Staffordshire Terriers,
were off-leash and roaming outside their owner’s property when the attack
occurred on a sidewalk about 1:43 p.m., according to Hood and Animal Care
Services Director Shannon Sims.

The first city fire rescue crews on scene saw a bloodied man being dragged
around a corner by dogs, Hood said. The first responders fended off the
canines with pickaxes and pike poles, he said.

“This is not something normal for us,” the chief said. “We don’t usually
show up and have to defend patients from animals.”

The man was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Hood said.
The woman was also hospitalized and was conscious and in critical
condition, he said.

The dogs, two females and a male, are in custody of Animal Care Services,
Sims said.

They were expected to stay there until the services’ investigation of the
attack was completed, he said.

An Animal Care Services investigation will determine if the owners are
prosecuted. Officials on Friday would not say what charges they could
face.

Animal Care Services workers seized all the dogs at a property believed to
be home of the three terriers, Sims said. One of the three didn’t appear
to be involved in the mauling but was rounded up, he said.

In 2021, dogs from the same residence were impounded by Animal Care
Services after “fight” in which minor biting was noted, Sims said. The
dogs were quarantined but then freed because a case wasn’t possible
without an affidavit from a witness.

During the last two years, dogs from the same residence have been the
subject of reports of unleashed canines displaying aggressive behavior, he
said.

Hood called the incident “horrific” and said firefighters took
responsibility for protecting neighbors and themselves from the dogs.

“The firefighters were very heroic in this instance,” he said.

<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dogs-kill-elderly-man-critically-
injure-woman-bite-2-others-texas-atta-rcna72290>