A baby was killed and the child’s parents injured in an apparent attack by the family dog in New Jersey on Saturday, according to police.
“Middlesex County prosecutors and Woodbridge police said officers responded to the Woodbridge Township home shortly before 6:30 a.m. Saturday over a report of an unresponsive baby believed to have been attacked by the family dog,” CBS News reported.
Officials said police officers found the mother and child with “serious injuries from the dog.” The infant was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report. Both the mother and father were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Officials have not released the names of the victims and have not clarified the state of the dog. Authorities also did not disclose the breed of the dog.
Authorities said the investigation is “active and continuing” and asked anyone with information about the incident to call Woodbridge police and county prosecutors.
Approximately 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States every year, Forbes reported, 30 to 50 of whom die. Roughly 30 percent of deadly dog attacks involve a victim between the ages of one and four, according to the report.