Boy, 8, is mauled to death by dogs that were constantly allowed to roam the streets, cops say
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The Volusia County Sheriff said that law enforcement’s goal was to destroy the dogs and bring charges against the animals’ owner. An eight-year-old boy in Florida was mauled and killed by a pair of dogs in a “horrific” attack on Monday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
![[Police have called for the dogs to be killed and residents spoke about how the pets have frequently roamed the neighborhood]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/21/Screenshot-2025-01-14-at-3.50.22%E2%80%AFPM.jpg)
Sheriff Michael Chitwood told reporters that the young boy was riding his bike with his friends when he spotted a pair of dogs in the subdivision where he lived and approached to pet them. The dogs reportedly were initially receptive to the attention but then began viciously attacking the boy, according to Chitwood. The boy died at the scene from his injuries.
Chitwood said the dogs were taken by deputies and were put into a quarantine and that the sheriff's office is waiting for a response from the dog owners. He said the owners can either sign the dogs over to the sheriff's office, or if they refuse to give up custody law enforcement will have to take the issue to court.
Chitwood asked that anyone with information about the dogs or the dogs' owners to contact law enforcement, noting that deputies were told stories of the dogs' past destructive and aggressive behavior. "As we went door to door last night, we heard horrific stories of how the dogs are always at large, of how they've destroyed chickens, and we've gotten some information from another county that they were involved in some other type of an incident there," Chitwood said.
