Folks in the neighborhood say loose dogs have been a problem for some time, terrorizing people as they walk to the store. But last night, they allegedly went beyond just being a nuisance.
It happened a little after 2am. Neighbors say they heard screaming, and saw a woman's body lying in the street in the 7600 block of Glen Prairie at Leonora.
According to Houston police, officers arrived to find at least three people with what appeared to be dog bite wounds. A man was treated and released at the scene, a woman was taken to Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital and another woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbor Terri Terrell ran to help the woman who survived. At the time, she didn't realize the other woman had been killed.
"And I went to her and said, 'What's the matter?' And she just went into shock because the dog had bit her, too," Terrell said.
That victim told officers she had been attacked by at least two dogs, police said.
Animal control officers captured one of the dogs shortly after the attack, but so far haven't been able to find the second, or the man neighbors say owns the dogs.
The name of the woman who died has not yet been released.
Neighbors tell us they've been worried the dogs might do something like this. They say they've complained to the dogs' owner and the city, but so far nothing has been done. Now, they say someone needs to be held accountable.
"We've been complaining about the dogs for the longest, and nobody did nothing," witness Mary Doyle said. "We said this was going to happen, and it did happen."
Police are waiting for the results of an autopsy to confirm the woman's exact cause of death.
Animal control officers are working to take custody of the second dog. We're told they established what they believe is a place of residence and knocked on the door, but the tenant wasn't home or did not answer. Officials said they will go back to the residence until the dog is located or the owner is contacted.
Once identified, that owner could be taken in for questioning. Criminal charges would be up to the district attorney's office.
A representative from animal control said his department never received any formal complaints about the dogs. He said it's possible residents called another department to complain.
Animal control also said the dog captured Sunday morning will be euthanized.
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