7-Year-Old Girl Dies After Being Mauled By Neighbor's Pet Dogs, Mother Hospitalized

A 7-year-old girl died and her mother was hospitalized Tuesday in North Carolina after they were mauled by two dogs.

The girl and her mother were caring for the two pit bulls that belonged to their neighbor. The owner of the dogs was out of town when the incident took place. The dogs reportedly attacked the child and her mother in a backyard of a home in Garner.

The local police said both the victims were taken to a hospital following the attack. While the girl died in the hospital, the mother received treatment and was in a stable condition, the police said, CBS17 reported.

The police said it remains unknown what provoked the dogs to attack the two people who were caring for them.

“This is a horrible tragedy for all involved. Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families and all those who responded,” Lt. McIver told the media.

In a statement, the police also said the two dogs involved in the attack were seized by Wake County Animal Control and taken to the Wake County Animal Shelter. The fate of the dogs remain unclear.

Authorities said an investigation is underway into the incident, ABC11 reported.

In February, a 33-year-old Alabama man was mauled by a pack of vicious dogs while he was walking down a road outside his family home. The authorities said Eric Roney was ambushed by at least five dogs and suffered hundreds of puncture wounds. He was rushed to a hospital and doctors who treated him said his chances of survival were less. Roney's grandfather, Myland Johnson, said that at least five dogs -- believed to be hound mixes -- were on top of the man. He added there wasn't "a place on his body that’s not eaten." Animal Control arrived at the scene and found seven dogs on the property. All seven dogs involved in the attack were taken away and euthanized. They were also tested for rabies, authorities said at the time.