A woman has been fatally mauled by her own XL Bully dogs in a tragic incident in east London. The Mirror reports that the emergency services, including armed officers, were dispatched to a residence in Hornchurch in the Havering area of London at around 1:12pm on Monday, May 20, following reports of a “critical incident”.
A police officer at the scene told the Mirror that firearms officers and London’s Air Ambulance were called following the attack, but sadly were unable to save the woman. It is believed the woman was in her 50s.
Police activity was noted in the area, with officers entering the quiet cul-de-sac late on Monday evening. Residents reportedly provided refreshments to the officers, who had maintained the cordon for seven hours.
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One resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Mirror: “The dogs weren’t killed, they’ve taken them away.” They added: “There’s been vans back and forth non-stop since lunchtime and we saw the helicopter come over and you assume the worst. Campion [a nearby school and sixth form college] isn’t far from here so you panic it’s kids or something. You never think a dog’s going to do that. It’s awful”.
By 9pm on Monday, the area had been sealed off to the public as “a crime scene” according to another police officer who spoke to the Mirror.
A spokesperson for the Met Police told The Mirror: “The woman was treated by medics from London Ambulance Service, but sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene. Due to the threat posed, armed officers attended. After assessing the situation, officers were able to safely seize two dogs.
“These were registered XL Bully dogs and prior to officers’ arrival had been contained inside a room in the house. They did not leave the house at any time during the incident. The family of the woman, who was the owner of the dogs, are being supported by officers.”
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service also told The Mirror: “We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and London’s air ambulance. We treated a person but sadly, despite our efforts, they were pronounced dead at the scene.”
New restrictions on XL Bully dogs came into force on December 31 last year following heightened concern about attacks involving the breed, including two incidents that took place in Caerphilly. It is now a legal requirement for all XL Bully dogs to be kept on a lead and muzzled when in public.
It is also illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandoned or let XL Bully dogs stray. The move was made after 23 people in the UK died in the three years leading up to the start of the ban.
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