canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A 3-year-old boy was killed Tuesday morning after being attacked by two family dogs at a home in Louisville's Newburg neighborhood, police say.

Officers responded to the 4800 block of Brenda Drive just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell.

The 3-year-old boy suffered fatal injuries in the attack, Mitchell said.

According to 911 audio, the child had reportedly fallen out of a window into his family's yard, where the family's two Rottweilers attacked the child.

The dogs were taken away by Louisville Metro Animal Services, Mitchell said. A spokesperson for the animal services agency confirmed the department had been on the scene and said animals involved in incidents such as this one are placed in quarantine.


No charges will be filed in connection with the incident, Mitchell said later Tuesday.

Family members and friends could be seen hugging and consoling one another near the home on Brenda Drive. Some neighbors observed the scene from their front porches.

"Obviously, it's a very devastating thing that's happened here," Mitchell said. "Our prayers go out to the family at this time."

Louisville Metro Animal Services spokeswoman Teeya Barnes said LMAS will not release a photo of the dogs or provide comment "out of respect for the victim and the grieving family."

"The dogs will be quarantined at the LMAS Shelter for the mandatory 10 days required by the Louisville Animal Ordinance," said Barnes in a statement. "They can be Euthanized once the quarantine ends."

In May, a 2-year-old boy was attacked and killed by a pit bull inside a home in Louisville's Chickasaw neighborhood.

A grand jury later indicted the child's mother on a reckless homicide charge and two people who owned the dog on second-degree manslaughter charges.

The pit bull in the Chickasaw neighborhood attack was eventually euthanized.