NORTH OF WESLACO -- A 5-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pit bull here Wednesday evening, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

The incident occurred about 8 p.m. at a home on North Beto Garcia Road, just north of the intersection of Mile 12 1/2 North and Farm-to-Market Road 88.

Deputies arrived at the scene to find the child's aunt holding his lifeless body in her arms and the dog still in the front yard. The dog fled after a deputy shot and wounded it, and authorities were still trying to subdue the animal late Wednesday.

Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Rosa Treviño pronounced the boy dead at the scene shortly after 9 p.m. She said the condition of the child's body suggested there was no way emergency responders could have saved the boy's life.

Sheriff's deputies were still at the scene investigating late Wednesday, trying to determine if negligence was a factor in the incident. The sheriff declined to speculate on whether any criminal charges would be filed, noting deputies must determine whether the dog had been confined and how the boy came into contact with the animal.

Neighbors told deputies the dog was always chained up, an assertion supported by local activist Beto Garcia - namesake of the road where the mauling occurred. However, one witness told The Monitor the animal was not restrained just before the incident.

Sheriff Treviño declined to identify the boy pending notification of his mother, who lives and works in the state of Washington. The boy's father resides in Mexico.

The sheriff said the boy, whom neighbors identified as Pablo Hernandez, had been living with his aunt and uncle after Child Protective Services placed him with them.

The circumstances of that placement were not immediately known, but the sheriff said his office had no record of being called out to the house before.

Luis Palomo, 20, said he was about four houses down the street playing football with his friends when the trouble began. The boy was at home with a babysitter when a pit bull at the house began running around the front yard in an excited manner, getting a second pit bull inside the home riled up.

The babysitter and boy were inside the house with the second dog and were clearly fearful, Palomo said. He went over to help them and managed to distract the dogs temporarily, but the boy wandered out the back door. One of the dogs grabbed him by the torso and dragged him.

Palomo recalled hearing about 20 seconds of screaming, and then nothing. He said the dog locked its jaws around the boy's neck, quickly killing him.

"These types of accidents can be prevented," Justice of the Peace Treviño said, cautioning the public about owning pit bulls.

"No one needs to keep these types of dogs," she said. "These dogs turn on you."

____

Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4434.