9-year-old mauled to death by 3 dogs as she was playing near home, Michigan cops say

Tragedy struck when a 9-year-old girl was playing near her home in Michigan on Monday, police say.

Three dogs, which police describe as pit bulls, escaped from a neighbor’s yard and attacked the girl as she played in an alley in Detroit, WDIV reported.

One neighbor says he came outside to investigate after he heard “screaming and yelling,” WDIV reported. He says he saw the dogs attacking and “chewing” the girl before he threw a brick at the dogs and they ran away, according to the news outlet.

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Police say another neighbor shot one of the dogs, WKJB reported.

Deborah Golden, who lives nearby, called the scene the worst she’s ever witnessed.

“I [saw] the little girl flat on her back with the bite marks and part of her neck hanging off,” she said, according to WXYZ. “I started CPR and I had the dad grab the neck and hold it.”

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Ultimately, the girl died.

“You’re talking about a 9-year-old girl who was just out there playing and now she’s not here,” Detroit police Captain Russell Solano said, according to WDIV. “I can’t imagine. You think about your own children. It is tough.”

The dogs’ owner was arrested and the animals are in the care of Animal Control, WXYZ reported.

Golden said unleashed dogs have proven to be an “ongoing problem” in her neighborhood, WKJB reported.

“There is two dogs that were always roaming loose on Kirkwood here,” she told the TV station, “and one of them attacked me, and a number of other people.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2019 at 9:53 AM with the headline "9-year-old mauled to death by 3 dogs as she was playing near home, Michigan cops say."