A 10-year-old girl dies after being bitten by the family dog

In the UK, a 10-year-old girl died after the family dog ​​attacked her.

According to the press release issued by North Yorkshire Police in England, the girl was at home in the town of Malton at around 4.15pm local time on Friday, November 1, when Yorkshire Ambulance Service responded to a report of a dog attack.

According to the police, after the attack, one of the girl’s family members “secured” the dog in the car, and the officers secured the animal after arriving at the scene. The dog was later placed in a “safe kennel.”

North Yorkshire Police said that “despite the efforts of medics and a member of the public who came to the family’s aid, the girl tragically died at the scene, having sustained serious injuries.”

Although police said on Sunday that the dog would be “destroyed” after the girl’s death, the question of why the animal bit her remains open. “All evidence so far suggests that this was an unusual incident, as the girl and the dog had a close, loving relationship,” the police said in a statement.

“One of the directions of the investigation is the dog’s behavior, which is intended to help, if possible, explain why it attacked the girl,” the police added.

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The girl has not been publicly identified, but coroners were scheduled to perform an autopsy on Sunday, November 3, police added. The breed of the dog was not provided.

“We urge people not to speculate about this incident and to respect the family’s wishes for privacy so that they can grieve in peace,” the statement concluded. “Our officers continue to support the family as the investigation continues.”

CBS News in February it reported that the number of dog attacks in the UK was increasing. Before 2021, there was an average of three fatal dog attacks a year in the country, but since then there have been at least 23 attacks a year in the UK.