'They Got My Baby': Pit Bulls Maul Boy, 4, to Death

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A 4-year-old boy was mauled to death by four pit bulls that pulled him under the fence on Detroit’s near west side Wednesday, authorities said.

Three of the dogs were shot by police “in an effort to save this child,” Detroit police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Lewis said, the Detroit Free Press reports. The attack occurred at 12:25 p.m. near the Lodge Freeway Service Drive and Fenkell.

“She was walking in the neighborhood with her son and when she got to the corner, she saw the dogs come around the corner and they began to attack the baby,” Lewis said.

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Nyasha Reid, 36, who lives in the neighborhood, told the Free Press she heard the boy’s mother scream “They got my baby,” and called 911 as she witnessed the horrific attack.

The boy’s mother, who was walking to a local school to volunteer, tried to fight off the dogs before they pulled the boy under the fence, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.

Neighbors stepped in and screamed, used mace on the dogs and tried to fight them off using a brick and a club. The child was limp when police shot the three dogs and corralled the fourth. It’s unclear when the boy died.

Craig said officers who responded to the attack were severely shaken and counselors will be made available to help them deal with the trauma.

“This is no different than when our officers are dealing with armed suspects,” he said, according to a report on WDIV-TV.

The dogs belonged to a neighbor of the victim, The Detroit News reports.

“It’s pretty much an open and shut case,” Lewis said Wednesday. “We know who the dogs belong to. We know what happened.”

Police did not release the name of the victim of the nature of his injuries.