A 6-year-old boy died when his caretaker’s dog attacked him in her garage Tuesday morning in Portland, Oregon. Officers were reportedly greeted at the door by a woman covered in blood.
The woman told officers that she was in charge of taking the boy to school after his grandmother drops him off and that she owns two Great Dane-mastiff dogs that stay in the garage, which is attached to her house. The boy knew not to approach the dogs, but when the woman went into the garage Tuesday morning, the boy opened the door connecting the house and garage and they attacked him.
The woman tried to pull the dogs away from the boy and grabbed a gun that she didn’t end up using. She was later taken to the hospital with injuries on her hands from trying to stop the attack. Animal services will take the dogs away. There is no previous record of animal service complaints from the address.
Homicide and child abuse detectives are investigating the case. Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner said it is too early to determine if the caretaker will face criminal charges.
“I speak for everyone in the bureau when I say our hearts break for the boy, for his family, for his friends,” Benner said, calling the incident “unimaginable.”
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