Pack of pit bulls maul, kill 4-year-old boy

DETROIT -- A 4-year-old boy mauled by four pit bulls on Wednesday was pronounced dead after being rushed to Children's Hospital, CBS Detroit reports.

A neighbor, Yolanda Samuels, was at the scene of the terrifying event, Wednesday afternoon, on Bayliss Street in Detroit.

She called 911 after hearing the boy's mother's cries.

"One of (the dogs) grabbed the baby from her and drug the baby under the fence," Samuels told CBS Detroit News' Stephanie Davis. "The dogs started mauling on the baby, and when we came out -- we were getting ready to go somewhere -- she said, 'Miss Lala, they've got my baby!'"

A neighbor threw a brick and pepper-sprayed the dogs, but that didn't put a stop to the attack.

The mauling continued, witnesses said, until police officers arrived and shot one of the dogs. The other three ran off but were found by police and fatally shot.

Neighbors said the dogs had been known to bark at passersby, but never attacked anyone prior to Wednesday. The owner of the dogs was on the scene and was said to be cooperating with police.

The little boy's name has not been released.