A 5-year-old boy was killed by a dog at a home in Jessieville, Ark.
The boy, who was not named, and his family were staying at a friend’s home in Arkansas. The family’s home was damaged during the devastating tornado that leveled neighborhoods in Moore, located outside of Oklahoma City.
A police report obtained by KARK-TV said the dog--a Bullmastiff--attacked the boy at a Garland County, Ark., home.
“The child was putting on some shoes and was crying and upset,” Garland County Deputy Scott Hinojosa told the station. “The dog possibly took that as being aggressive and at that time the child was attacked.”
The Bullmastiff, which was was between 150 pounds and 170 pounds, was put down after the incident.
The Garland County Sheriff’s Department says the boy was pronounced dead at a Hot Springs hospital on Sunday. A sheriff’s department’s report doesn’t identify the boy, whose body was taken to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.
Reports say that Lynn Geiling, the owner of the dog and the home, was able to pull the dog off the boy. She said the dog attacked the child after he threw a tantrum, according to The Associated Press.
According to NBC, the The American Bullmastiff Association says that while the breed of dog are good guard dogs, parents should “never leave a child unattended with your Bullmastiff.”
“They are pack animals and will find their natural place in the pack if left to natural processes. That place may be at the top of the pecking order instead of below younger family members if left unchecked,” it says.
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