"It was just a horrible tragedy and our heart goes out to the family," said Lt. Andrew Scott. "I can't imagine what they're going through at this moment."
The boy was mauled by the family pit bull at a home in Granite Bay around 3 p.m., officials said. The dog attack appeared to have been unprovoked.
"The adult was with the baby when the attack occurred and didn't appear to hint at anything that the attack was coming," Scott said. "Sometimes, they're not preventable and our investigation appears that is the case."
Scott said there are no signs of negligence and it appears no crime was committed.
"There are millions of houses that have millions of dogs with millions of babies in those houses," he said. "This is not an unusual circumstance, at all. And 99 times out of a 100, nothing ever occurs. In this particular case, something did occur — a tragedy occurred."
The toddler was rushed to a hospital but died from his injuries.
The dog was seized by animal control, but it is unclear if it will be euthanized.
No other information was released.
Of the 720 humans who were killed or disfigured by dogs in 2018, 572, or 79%, were attacked by pit bulls and close pit mixes.
Pit bulls are specifically bred to kill things. It is manifestly negligent to have one around a child.