Boy mauled to death by dogs in backyard of family home

A three-year-old boy has died after being mauled by two rottweilers in the backyard of his United States family home.

A three-year-old boy has died after being mauled by two dogs in the backyard of his family home. Pic: Billy Kobin/Twitter

A three-year-old boy was mauled to death by his family’s rottweilers while in the backyard of his house in the US state of Kentucky on Tuesday morning, according to reports.

The boy, who has been identified as Steven Thornton III, fell out of a window in his home in the Newburg section of Louisville at about 9am and was attacked by the two dogs, a local NBC affiliate news station reported.

Police and medics responded to the house and declared the boy dead at the scene, according to the report.

No charges were expected to be filed against his family members, who were home at the time of the incident, the Courier Journal reported.

LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell says a 3-year-old boy was attacked and killed by two dogs owned by his family.

An investigation is ongoing to determine if any charges will be filed. pic.twitter.com/0kOjDPii24

— Billy Kobin (@Billy_Kobin) October 1, 2019

A post-mortem revealed the cause of death was “injuries consistent with dog attack”.

The dogs were taken away by animal control authorities in the city, the newspaper reported.

Local journalist Billy Cobin shared a photo on Twitter of police cars outside the home and said neighbours were standing on the street in tears after the tragedy unfolded.

“Obviously, it’s a very devastating thing that’s happened here. Our prayers go out to the family at this time,” Louisville Metro Police Department spokesman Dwight Mitchell said.

In July a dog attack in Melbourne left an 11-year-old boy with serious facial injuries.

The child was badly mauled in the face by a doberman cross in the northwestern Melbourne suburb of Cairnlea.

It happened just days after Melbourne father Leo Biancofiore, 61, was mauled to death by his son’s American staffordshire terrier.

Police opened fire at the dog to stop the attack but took several hours to finally capture the animal.

Mr Biancofiore’s wife Donata was called a “hero” after she tried to fight off the dog.

This story was originally published in the New York Post and is reprinted with permission

Originally published as Boy mauled to death by dogs in backyard of family home