WAXHAW, N.C.,None — A 5-year-old girl died after being attacked by two pit bulls in Waxhaw.
The girl's grandmother was also seriously hurt when she tried to get the dogs off the child.
The attack happened in the back yard of the dog owners' home on Rehobeth Road, off South Main Street. The home is next door to the house where 5-year-old Makayla Woodard lived with her grandmother, 67-year-old Nancy Presson.
"It's so awful to know somebody got hurt in our own neighborhood," neighbor Barbe Albright said.
Police said the two pit bulls were loose when they attacked Makayla, a kindergartner at Waxhaw Elementary. Her grandmother was trying to get the dogs off her when she was severely injured.
"Obviously, when it's a child, it becomes more emotional and more tragic, so we're dealing with it the best we can and will continue to investigate and see where it leads us," Waxhaw Police Chief Michael Eiss said.
The exact circumstances of the attack are still unclear. Police eventually shot and killed both pit bulls.
The dogs' owner was not home at the time. An Eyewitness News crew stopped by the house but was asked to leave.
Eiss said police were called to the pit bull owner's home around Christmas because of a complaint that the dogs were off their leashes, which is a violation of the town's leash law. The owner was told to have the animals chained up, police said.
The district attorney has been contacted about the case and police said more information about possible charges should be coming soon.