A 4-year-old boy died after being mauled by a pack of family dogs in his Lower Valley home Thursday. El Paso police officers found Jacob Brooks' battered body in the backyard of a home in the 9100 block of Morelia Road at about 8 p.m. Thursday, officials said. No other information on the boy was immediately available.
Officers had been dispatched to the Del Valle area neighborhood on an unknown problem.
Police said the boy's mother, who has not been identified, left him in an enclosed trampoline in the back yard. It was unclear how long the boy had been outside and whether he was alone with the dogs.
The mother was placed in protective custody and taken to an area medical facility, police said.
No charges had been filed as of Friday afternoon, but the police department's Crimes Against Persons unit is investigating the incident.
Police said the dogs, which were of different breeds and sizes, were taken to animal control.
Neighbors said it was a chaotic scene that ended tragically.
"The ambulance came, and when we saw the people who live there come out of the house crying, I imagined right way (what might have happened) ... They have a lot of dogs, and aggressive dogs — Pit Bulls and German Shepherds, big and small, about 10 dogs — and young children," Ramon Payan, who lives across the street from the home, said Friday.
"You imagine right away what might have happened… but we never thought the boy could have died. He was only four," he added. "They practically ate him."
Friday morning, a piece of red police tape could be seen hanging from a chain link fence at the home. The trampoline, enclosed with its safety netting, could be seen on the otherwise barren backyard.
Payan said he believes two women and about three children live at the house, including a baby.
"They (the family) were torn apart for the boy," Payan said. "It was ugly, as one can imagine. They were screaming because of what happened. They threw themselves on the ground. He had already passed away. It had already happened and they couldn't do anything now. Even when they were taken in the police car, they were still screaming and screaming."
