California woman killed by family dogs while entering home
VALINDA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California woman who tried to get into her home through a backyard window was attacked and killed by the family’s four dogs and her young son was bitten, authorities said Wednesday.
The attack took place around 5 p.m. Tuesday in unincorporated East Valinda in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, lived with her sister-in-law but nobody was home at the time and the woman had forgotten her key, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. David Petrocelli told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Sheriff’s deputies called to the scene saw the woman lying in the backyard and used hoses to force the dogs away from her, Petrocelli said.
She suffered major injuries to her head and one arm and died at a hospital.
Her 6-year-old son received minor injuries. He was found at a neighbor’s house.
"The dogs were familiar with the child, but not with the mother," Petrocelli said.
He didn’t know the breeds of the dogs. They were taken by the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control and were under quarantine, department spokesperson Don Belton said.