By Dennis Romero -
NBC News
An 81-year-old man was killed and a woman critically injured after being attacked by a small pack of dogs, which also attacked first responders who responded to his aid Friday afternoon in San Antonio, authorities said.
Two other people received bites, one on the hand and another - a captain of the city's fire department - on the leg, San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood said at a press conference Friday.
Both will recover, he said.
The owner of the animals was arrested late Friday, San Antonio police said.
Christian Alexander Moreno, 31, faces two charges, the first for possessing a dog involved in a fatal attack and the second for assaulting the elderly, both felonies, according to police.
[85-year-old woman dies in Florida after saving her dog from an alligator attack]
The identity of the man who died has not yet been released.
Police said he was 81 years old and the woman, who was seriously injured, is 74 years old.
The victims were a couple, the city said in a statement.
On the day of the incident, they were visiting relatives and had just gotten out of a vehicle shortly before 2 p.m. when two dogs broke through a gate on the property they were on and attacked them, according to the city. .
One of the dogs involved in the attack in San Antonio, Texas.
Courtesy WOAI/KABB
Firefighters were the first to arrive and saw a bloody man being dragged around a corner by dogs, Hood said.
Rescuers had to drive them away using picks and other tools.
"This is not normal for us," said the boss.
"It's not often that we come in and have to defend animal patients."
The man was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead,
Hood said.
The woman was also hospitalized.
She was conscious and in critical condition, she explained.
[On Video: Woman Struck in the Head by Moose While Walking Her Dog]
The three dogs involved in the incident will be euthanized, the city said in a statement.
The animals are of the
American Staffordshire Terriers breed.
Florida captures lizard that killed 85-year-old woman
Feb 22, 202300:26
The dogs, two females and one male, were turned over to Animal Care Services, said its director in San Antonio, Shannon Sims.
Employees at the institution took all the dogs from the property where the three
terriers
are believed to have lived , according to Sims.
One of them appears not to have been involved in the attack, but he was cornered, he added.
In 2021, dogs from the same home were taken into the custody of Animal Care Services after a "fight" involving small bites, Sims explained.
The animals were quarantined but later released because it was not possible to open a case without a witness sworn statement.
Firefighters fend off one of the dogs in the deadly attack in San Antonio, Texas. Courtesy WOAI/KABB
In the past two years, the dogs at that home have been the subject of complaints
alleging they were running loose and exhibiting aggressive behavior, he said.
An additional "confirmed bite" incident involving at least two of those believed to be responsible for Friday's attack was reported in January, according to the city.
Hood called the incident "horrible" and said firefighters took responsibility for protecting themselves and their neighbors from the animals.
“The firefighters were very heroic in this case,” he stressed.