A 62-year-old man was killed Monday during a dog attack on the Mason Creek hiking trail in Katy, Texas, and three large dogs were later captured and secured, authorities said.

The initial mauling occurred during a morning walk on the popular suburban trail, according to local reporting. Witnesses who saw the attack attempted to intervene and deputies responding to the scene later discovered the man, law-enforcement officials said. Neighbors told KHOU that people in the area tried to save the man when the animals attacked.

The violence did not end with the first mauling. Shortly after the initial attack, a nearby mother, identified in local reports as Blessing Okwunwa, encountered the same dogs while she was with her young son. Okwunwa described a chaotic struggle in which she sought refuge in her garage but was knocked to the ground and bitten multiple times as the animals turned on people in the area.

“I fell and they bit me,” Okwunwa told reporters. She described the animals pinning her to the pavement and said she fought to protect her child as the dogs ran toward her son and began pouncing. “I mean, I can be in pain, but not my baby,” she said, recounting how she fought them off to keep her toddler from being hurt.

Deputies on the scene later captured and secured three large dogs that investigators believe were involved in both incidents, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. The agency said it has custody of the animals and is overseeing the investigative steps that follow an attack of this scale.

Officials did not immediately release the identity of the man who died. Local outlets, including Fox26Houston, provided additional accounts of the scene and the response by deputies as they worked to secure the area and take the animals into custody.

Witness accounts emphasized how quickly the situation escalated and how bystanders moved to help amid the violence. Neighbors expressed shock as word of the attacks spread through the community around the Mason Creek hiking trail, a popular local route for walking and recreation in the Katy area.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating the sequence of events that led to the fatal mauling and the injury of the mother. Investigators will determine the full timeline of the attacks and the circumstances that allowed the dogs to be loose in the trail area, officials said.

The attacks prompted a law-enforcement response and raised concerns among residents about safety along the trail. For now, deputies have the animals in custody as the agency continues its inquiry into the incident and the decisions that will follow regarding the dogs.

As investigators collect statements from witnesses and review the events of Monday morning, the community around Mason Creek remains shaken by the sudden and deadly turn of events on what is typically a quiet suburban trail.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article.