SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Six guard dogs killed a 4-year-old girl and injured her sister and their mother as they returned home late from church, police and news reports said Monday.
The incident occurred Sunday night on a small farm in Carapicuiba, a rural district on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, where the mother and the children's father live and work as caretakers, police said.Police inspector Fernando Cesar Costa de Oliveira said the dogs, all Rottweilers, were apparently set loose by the owner of the farm to guard the property.
The victim suffered bite wounds to the face and died immediately, Oliveira said. Her 3-year-old sister was rushed to a hospital in serious condition. The mother was treated for less serious bites she received trying to protect the girls.
The three were attacked in the yard as they returned home from church, local television reported.
It was not clear if the owner would be charged in the incident.
"It's really tragic what happened," said Oliveira. "There should have been some way of controlling the dogs when someone arrived."