California Man Dies After Being Mauled by His 3 Dogs in Park: Reports

A California man has died after reportedly being mauled by his three dogs near a children’s playground. 

Pedro Luis Ortega, 26, was attacked by his three XL bullies while walking in Mesa Viking Neighborhood Park, San Diego at around midday on Friday, Dec. 13, the San Diego Police Department stated in a news release, per Fox 8 News, NBC 7 San Diego and NBC News. 

Ortega was bitten repeatedly in the attack, according to police. A second person also sustained “serious bite injuries” while trying to intervene in the attack, per the outlets. 

Both victims were transported to the hospital where Ortega later died, SDPD Officer Jose Perales confirmed to NBC 7 San Diego. The injuries of the second victim are thought to be non-life-threatening. A child who was with Ortega was found unharmed, per Fox 8 News. 

Police reportedly tasered the dogs after they arrived on the scene, causing them to run off. Several other people in the park also reportedly tried to stop the attack with shovels and a golf club found at the scene, per multiple outlets. 

A spokesperson for the nonprofit organization Humane Society, Nina Thompson, told NBC 7 San Diego: “Upon arrival, our humane officers worked collaboratively to locate two of the dogs [that] were still loose, and impounded a third dog that had been contained in a car.”

The three dogs were placed into bite quarantine before being euthanized on Saturday, Dec. 14, Thompson confirmed. Their remains are being tested for rabies, according to reports. 

Witness Paul Ngo told NBC News of the attack, “I saw a person running around with three dogs. I noticed that he was constantly repeating like, ‘Hey, be gentle, be nice.’ ”

Another local witness, Steve Marto, told NBC 7 San Diego, “I just saw [the police] had something trapped in the weeds over here. I thought it was a person at first because they were talking about setting up a perimeter,” referring to the dogs being captured. 

An investigation into the attack is ongoing. 

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“We are fully committed to conducting a thorough and careful review of this incident in collaboration with our law enforcement partners,” Thompson said, per NBC News. 

PEOPLE has reached out to the SDPD and the Humane Society for further comment at this time.