Authorities are investigating a deadly dog mauling of a 1-month-old girl in Queens, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the case.
Investigators were at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City on Tuesday, bringing out bags of evidence from a 6th-floor apartment unit which became the setting of a disturbing scene.
A police source told NBC New York that the mother of the child called 911, claiming the baby girl was sleeping in bed between her and her boyfriend. When the couple woke up, they allegedly saw their German shepherd-pit bull mix puppy attacking the infant.
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WATCH HEREThe dog had jumped on the bed and was biting the girl's face, according to the law enforcement source.
Officers said they arrived at the apartment on the upper level of a building between 12th Street and 41st Avenue around 6:40 a.m. They found 1-month-old unconscious at the time, but she later died.
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SIGN UP The medical examiner was at the scene Tuesday.
"That’s really sad. I feel bad for the mom, but at the end of the day, I feel like whoever was in that house, they weren’t being responsible. I’m sorry," said neighbor Shanel Norvil.
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Distraught neighbors said police had visited the apartment for some type of disturbance over the past weeks. They also said a dog that looked like a pit bull was at times roaming around the building unrestricted.
"Cops was always in this building because of them, so I’m not surprised," Norvil said. "I seen the dog. He was never on a leash, I know that much."
No arrests had yet been made. It was not known whether the mother or the man living with her had been questioned by police in connection to the girl's death.
Police had yet to identify the infant. More information is expected to be provided as it becomes available.
