A ten-year-old boy has died following a “horrific” dog attack after visiting a school friend’s house. Police were called after screams were heard coming from a house where children were playing on Monday afternoon, Nov. 8, in the village of Penyrheol, near Caerphilly, South Wales.
The boy was mauled to death at the scene by the dog which was then shot dead by a police marksman.
The dog, believed to be an American Pitbull, had bitten a customer outside a nearby shop at the weekend.
It had recently been brought into the area and a family volunteered to look after it for a few hours as a favor to the owner, According to Dailymail.
Neighbors said they phoned police after hearing screaming coming from the home in Pentwyn, near Caerphilly.
Eyewitnesses said they saw more than a dozen emergency service vehicles near the house, WalesOnline reports.
One neighbor described the scene as “horrific,” adding: “I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.”
Local shop worker Tarjit Sandhu, 67 said the beast had recently been brought into the area, and a family volunteered to look after it for a few hours as a favor to the owner.
He said: “The little boy who died was at the house with his little friend when the dog attacked.
It is a fighting dog, an American pit bull, it hasn’t been in the village very long.
A few days ago, it was tied up outside the shop where I work when a man customer bent down to stroke it.
The dog bit him on the arm, it was quite a nasty bite.”
Mr Sandhu said the attack had left the community in a state of shock and disbelief. “It’s a dreadful thing to happen,” he said.
Another local businessman said: “It happened soon after the children came home from school. I heard there were screams and shouting. It’s awful.”
Officers urged anyone with information to call 101. Police are interviewing the dog’s owner who according to locals had only had him for a few days.
