2 children die, mother critically injured after family’s pet pit bulls attack, sheriff says

MEMPHIS – Two young children died and their mother was hospitalized after two family dogs attacked them at their home in Tennessee, officials said.

The dogs attacked a 2-year-old girl, a 5-month-old boy and their mother Wednesday afternoon in the home located north of Memphis near Shelby Forest State Park, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet.

The children were pronounced dead at the scene and their mother was taken to a Memphis hospital in critical condition.

Investigators told Action 5 News that the dogs were pit bulls and described as “family pets.”

According to the news station Local Memphis, the dogs were euthanized Thursday afternoon by Memphis Animal Services.

“We as a whole need to take accountability about how we train them as far as being a little too aggressive with them by introducing them to things they shouldn’t be introduced to,” dog trainer Allen McCoy told Action 5 News. “Because I look at it as with the pit, it could be aggressive, but a mutt could be too, depending on the environment.

The investigation remains active. No further information was immediately released.