Owner greets cops at door with bloody hands after dogs kill 6-year-old, Oregon cops say

A 6-year-old was mauled and killed by a pair of dogs in a home, Oregon officials said.

Portland officers responded to a home and were greeted by a woman with bloody hands, officials told KGW8.

Police learned the boy’s grandma had dropped him off with her friend, who is the owner of the dogs, so she could take him to school that morning, officials told KPTV.

The woman was injured while trying to stop the attack, according to a news release by the Portland Police Bureau.

“We understand that the homeowner/dog owner did everything in her power to stop this attack, at some point even grabbing a gun - it never got that far,” Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Mike Benner told KPTV. “She did everything she could to save this boy’s life.”

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman was taken to a hospital for minor injuries, officials said.

“It’s a little boy. He’s 6. I speak for everyone at the bureau when I say my heart breaks for this little boy, for his family and for his friends,” Benner told KGW8. “When something like this happens, it’s a shock to the conscience. To have this happen just weeks before Christmas, it’s just unimaginable.”

The dogs, which officers believe to be Great Dane-mastiff mixes, were handed over to Multnomah County Animal Services, police said.

Police didn’t specify if the owner will be facing criminal charges.

Portland Police Bureau’s Child Abuse and Homicide Unit are investigating.

Officers urge anyone with information to email Jennifer.Musser@police.portlandoregon.gov, the release said.

This story was originally published December 6, 2023 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Owner greets cops at door with bloody hands after dogs kill 6-year-old, Oregon cops say."