One arrested in Texas dog attack that left an 81-year-old man dead

An elderly gentleman was killed and a female critically injured by a compact pack of canines that attacked them and to start with responders who arrived to their aid Friday afternoon in San Antonio, officials stated.

Two other people were bitten — a single on a hand and the other, a town fireplace office captain, on a leg, San Antonio Fire Main Charles Hood explained at a information meeting Friday. By Saturday evening, all three survivors experienced been taken care of and unveiled from the clinic, the city’s Animal Treatment Products and services and law enforcement departments said in a joint statement.

San Antonio law enforcement had arrested the operator of the canines in link with the attack.

The identity of the person who was killed has not been publicly released, and the professional medical examiner’s office did not answer to a ask for for details Saturday. Law enforcement explained he was 81 years previous and the woman who was critically wounded is 74. The city explained her in a statement as his companion.

The few had been visiting family and had just stepped out of a auto soon in advance of 2 p.m. when at least two of the canines breached a gate on the home where by they have been retained and attacked, the city said.

The very first metropolis fire rescue crews on scene noticed a bloodied gentleman getting dragged about a corner by puppies, Hood reported. The to start with responders fended off the canines with pickaxes and pike poles, he reported.

“This is not one thing ordinary for us,” the chief mentioned. “We do not typically show up and have to defend patients from animals.”

The person was rushed to a clinic, where he was pronounced dead, Hood said.

The suspect, Christian Alexander Moreno, 31, faces fees of possessing a puppy involved in a fatal assault and injuring the elderly, both of those felonies, law enforcement explained.

The three dogs included in the assault or which had been off their assets at the time had been euthanized, Animal Treatment Solutions claimed Saturday. The canine ended up explained as American Staffordshire Terriers.

The puppies, two ladies and a male, have been rapidly put in the custody of Animal Care Expert services following the assault, San Antonio Animal Care Services Director Shannon Sims.

Animal Treatment Providers employees seized all the canine at a residence considered to be household of the a few terriers, Sims reported.

In 2021, canines from the exact home had been impounded by Animal Care Services after “fight” in which minor biting was mentioned, Sims explained. The canine have been quarantined but then freed because a scenario wasn’t achievable with no an affidavit from a witness.

Throughout the past two yrs, canines from the very same home have been the subject of stories of unleashed canines exhibiting intense conduct, he stated.

An further “verified bite” situation involving at the very least two of the puppies considered accountable for Friday’s assault was reported in January, the metropolis said.

Hood termed the incident “horrific” and mentioned firefighters took accountability for shielding neighbors and them selves from the canines.

“The firefighters had been pretty heroic in this instance,” he claimed.