A 16-year-old mauled by pit bulls within a fenced-in backyard on Saturday has died. The Irving police department gave a statement yesterday stating the unnamed teen died at a Parkland hospital during the night. Medics also treated a police officer for bite wounds before they released him.

The police responded at 4:45 am in 800 block, East Third Street to reports of a possible dog attack. They stopped it by jumping a fence to get in between the teen and the dogs. They also shot one of the dogs after they charged.

It later had to be put down while the other two were taken to an animal shelter. The teen who did not reside at the place where the attack happened was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital with critical injuries but later died on Saturday night.

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Pitbull Pixabay

The police spokesman, Robert Reeves, was careful to point out no one yet knows why the boy was in the backyard and investigations are still ongoing.

In a sad twist, Guillermo Lorenzo, the homeowner claimed the boy said he was homeless and he wanted to help him. The homeowner is not facing any charges though considering the dogs in the backyard were in a fenced-in backyard, technically absolving him from any wrongdoing.

The police also declined to release the name because he was a teen accused of trespassing on private property. Lorenzo stated that no one had a right to be in that yard, and that was the reason why the fence was tall.

Elizabeth Cantu, the next-door neighbor, said she woke up to the noise at 4:30 am. She heard yelling and the dogs and immediately ran outside to perceive the dogs were attacking someone.

She ran and tried to wake Lorenzo by honking on the horn of her vehicle while her family proceeded to call 911. She also said the teen was able to escape from the dogs once and banged on the back door. Unfortunately, he did not get assistance and the attack began once again.

Apparently, this is not the first time; the dogs have displayed aggression before. They have had small incidences with Cantu and her family. Nothing grievous happened, but she felt palpable fear for those dogs. Lorenzo also admitted the dogs could be aggressive.

The police has not released the identity of the boy as yet. However, they are encouraging anyone who has information on the case to contact the Irving Police Department.