Four Dogs Maul 77-Year-Old Woman to Death in Arizona
An elderly woman has died after she was attacked by several dogs in Arizona, according to reports.
According to Phoenix-based ABC15, police said they raced to the woman's home in the area of 6th Street and Broadway Road, in Phoenix, just after 7 a.m. Tuesday morning following reports of a dog attack.
The outlet added that when officers arrived they found Maria Ruiz, 77, in a critical condition. Police said she was taken to a nearby hospital where she died from her injuries.
Investigators later learned Ruiz had been on her front porch when four Staffordshire Terrier mix dogs attacked and killed Ruiz.
The mixed-breed dogs belonged to Alejandro Hernandez, 33, according to the news outlet.
ABC15 reported that Hernandez had been previously contacted by the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC) about his dogs escaping from his home and was told at least once that he needed to fix a gate in order to keep them secure.
He was also issued with license warnings over the dogs.
The news outlet said that MCACC employees had since captured the dogs, while the police took Hernandez into custody.
Officials said that one dog had been tested for rabies. It was not clear what the result of the test was.
Phoenix police said Hernandez had told them his dogs had escaped several times before and that they had chased after and bitten neighbors, according to ABC15.
He was reportedly booked on one count of negligent homicide.
Newsweek has contacted the Phoenix Police Department and the MCACC for comment.
According to Arizona law, a dog owner could become subject to either class 1, class 3 or class 5 felonies if their pet escapes and, or bites, another person.
The tragic death comes after a series of harrowing dog attacks were recorded across the country.
In June, a 7-year-old boy was mauled and killed by at least one dog, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina.
Another troubling case was reported in New Jersey in June when a 3-year-old boy was mauled to death by several dogs after he fell out of a window of his home.
A third case happened that month when a FedEx driver in Illinois was mauled by dogs and needed to have his arm amputated following the attack.
