ST. LOUIS — Police say a woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs around 11:40 p.m. Wednesday night in north St. Louis city. The 62-year-old woman rescued her dog from three dogs who then surrounded her and attacked.
“This was an absolute tragedy, we want people to feel safe in their neighborhood, they have a right to feel safe in their neighborhood and we’re going to expect that,” said Mitch McCoy, Director of Public Affairs and Information for St Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Her 73-year-old husband came to her aid firing gunshots to distract the dogs and attempted to fight them back with a broom, according to police. Those shots alerted ShotSpotter and officers headed in their direction before the call was updated to a call for police help.
As officers arrived, they found the husband and wife surrounded and under attack by three dogs in the rear yard. Officers were able to distract the dogs and while two deployed pepper spray on them, a third officer rescued the woman by taking her inside.
“That’s when first aid started,” said McCoy. “Officers used multiple tourniquets along with one of our trauma bags that our officers are equipped with to start rendering aid.”
Police say the woman was barely conscious and heavily bleeding. EMS took transported her to a local hospital where she died during emergency surgery. Her husband also sustained multiple bites and injuries but opted for treatement at a later time. Her dog is on the mend.
Officers canvassed the neighborhood and discovered the dogs entering a yard at a nearby home where the dogs reside. St. Louis City’s Animal Control Division seized all three dogs. The 54-year-old-male owner is cooperating with police. The details of the case will be presented to the circuit attorney’s office.
“There have been two prior calls at this address for animal control dating back to Fall 2022,” said Justen Hauser, Environmental Health Bureau Chief. He added the Health Commissioner, by ordinance, has the authority to seize the dogs and euthanize them. As of 1 p.m. on Thursday, the dogs have not been euthanized.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
