Young boy mauled to death at US zoo

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium President and CEO Barbara Baker holds a news conference on the death of a young boy who was killed when he fell about 14 feet off a deck into an exhibit that’s home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in Pittsburgh. AP

WASHINGTON – Wild dogs mauled a young boy to death at a zoo in the US city of Pittsburgh, local media reported said Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted zoo president Barbara Baker as saying that the child, about three years old, fell over a railing – and off a mesh barrier – into an exhibit of African painted dogs.

The incident happened around noon Sunday.

According to the newspaper, darts were shot at the dogs to keep them away from the child but “unfortunately, the dogs were in pack mentality and not responding,” the newspaper cited the zoo as saying.

A Pittsburgh police officer reportedly shot and killed one of the eleven dogs in the enclosure.

The incident is under investigation.