Two Staffordshire Terriers mauled a man to death in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday and injured another woman who is currently in critical condition in a hospital. The dogs also attacked and bit a firefighter who responded to the situation with his team, said San Antonio Fire Captain Charles Hood.
According to Hood, the elderly man, around 80 years old, was walking along the sidewalk with the woman when they were attacked by the unrestrained dogs. Firefighters arrived at the scene and saw the dogs dragging the man on the floor, “they could see him completely bloodied before they got off of the truck,” he said.
Using pickaxes and pipe poles, the crew was able to rescue the man and the woman, but a firefighter got seriously bitten in the process. The elderly succumbed to his injuries in the hospital and the woman is in critical care, while the fireman is expected to be okay after being treated for his injuries. The incident happened around 1:45 pm.
“Horrific scene – horrific for the people that experienced this and, again, horrific for our firefighters that were a part of this, basically, a rescue to save themselves and to save these people,” Hood said.
While two terriers were confirmed to have carried out the attacks, a third unrestrained dog was seen in the vicinity, and it is not clear if it was part of the attackers. The director of the San Antonio Animal Care Services, Shannon Sims, said the three dogs were taken into custody and will be quarantined for a long time until investigations are over.
The two Staffordshire Terriers were also reported to have bitten someone back in 2021, and they were taken into custody by Animal Care Services. They were released after the owner paid to reclaim fees and they completed their quarantine. The victim and witnesses failed to file affidavits, and so the animals were not designated as dangerous at the time.
But in the latest case, it is too early to know if the owner will face charges for the death caused to a man by the dogs.
