Boy, 4, Dies After Being Mauled by Pit Bulls While Out Playing

A 4-year-old boy died after being attacked by three pit bulls in Mexico.

The attack occurred last Friday evening at the family home in the municipality of Temósachic, in Chihuahua state, the El Heraldo de Chihuahua newspaper reported.

The boy suffered injuries to various parts of his body and reportedly died before arriving at a local hospital.

Most dogs never bite or kill humans. But research conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that more than 4 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States. The American Veterinary Medical Association, meanwhile, estimates that around 1 in 5 dog bites will require medical attention.

Fatalities resulting from dog attacks are very rare. CDC data shows that 33 recorded deaths per year, on average, resulted from dog attacks in the United States between 1999 and 2020. While adults are often the victims of such incidents, children are more likely to suffer serious injuries.

Dog attacks can result in punctures, tearing and crush injuries from bites, while scratches can cause abrasions and lacerations.

Dog bites can also result in infections, which occur in an estimated 3 to 18 percent of cases, according to a study published in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.

Worldwide, dog bites are the leading cause of rabies transmission to humans—a disease that is almost always fatal if prompt treatment is not administered.

In the incident in Mexico, the 4-year-old was playing outside with another boy and two girls, who are daughters of the owners of the pit bulls, Mexican media outlet Vox Populi Noticias reported.

When the dogs saw the 4-year-old, they attacked him. The children ran to alert adults in the area, one of whom was a relative of the dog owner. The relative ran to help and managed to separate the dogs from the boy.

The young boy's father arrived at the scene soon afterward and found him lying on the ground and covered in blood.

At the time, the boy was still breathing, but he died as he was being transferred to a hospital in the nearby municipality of Guerrero.

Residents said this is not the first time the pit bulls have caused problems in the neighborhood, but so far the owners have not received any punishment.

The parents of the deceased child have spoken out on social media, demanding justice, Vox Populi Noticias reported. They said that the dogs are still roaming the streets and that their owners have not been arrested.