A tragic scene unfolded on Staten Island yesterday when a 59-year-old man was found dead, apparently mauled by a pit bull. The man, whose name has yet to be released, presented with wounds all over his body consistent with dog bites; he was pronounced dead at a residence on New Dorp Lane in the New Dorp neighborhood, according to ABC7NY.
Details remain sparse as the New York Police Department continues its investigation, but what is known is that they received a 911 call shortly after 4 p.m., signaling that a man was being attacked by a dog. Upon arrival, NYPD discovered the victim dead on the scene, this man evidently having been on the receiving end of a brutal encounter with the animal, though it was not immediately clear if the victim lived at the home or had any ownership claim over the dog, as CBS News reported.
The dog, a pit bull, was taken into custody by the ASPCA after the incident. Prior to the mauling, there were reports of the dog appearing abused within the neighborhood — with an anonymous woman recounting to ABC7NY that the residents “did not want this dog, just the other day they kicked it out and it was running down the street....they didn't want the dog in there.”
At the time officers arrived at the scene, other individuals were present in the home, but the nature of their connection to the victim remains ambiguous. Police are now trying to determine the identity of the dog's owner and whether any criminal charges should be pursued in light of the man's death, and while the attack was not the first police visit to the address the nature of previous calls to the residence was not disclosed, according to CBS News.
