Authorities stated that a 77-year-old woman in Phoenix died Tuesday after being mauled to death on her front porch by her neighbor's dogs.

The man was arrested Tuesday morning after police stated that his dogs attacked and killed his neighbor in south Phoenix.

According to AZCentral, Phoenix police stated that at around 7 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to reports of a woman being attacked by four large Staffordshire Terrier dogs just outside of her home near Sixth Street and Broadway Road. Officers and fire crews who responded at the scene found the woman, who was later on identified as 77-year-old Maria Ruiz. Ruiz suffered multiple wounds on her body.

Authorities immediately transported Ruiz to a local hospital. However, based on the statement from the Phoenix police, she later died from her injuries.

Moreover, a neighbor who asked for identity not to be disclosed stated that the dogs escaped several times. The neighbor also shared that they called the police in the past with the same related incident.

The neighbor added that the dogs have been violent and unruly before, and now, she has to grieve her neighbor's death. The neighbor stated that she was terrified by the incident because the victim was just sitting on the porch and wasn't even walking.

Another neighbor shared that situation related to the dogs has been so bad. She stated that she had to quickly pull her 2-year-old daughter inside. The neighbor added that she picked her daughter up by one arm and literally dragged her and ran inside the house while the dogs came and tried to attack the fence, AZ Family reported.

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The Dog Owner

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control captured and took custody of his dogs. The MCACC stated that the four large Staffordshire Terrier dogs belonged to 33-year-old Alejandro Hernandez. Based on MCACC, they were called out in February 2020 after five of Hernandez's dogs broke loose. At the time, he was issued seven license warnings for the dogs on the property. Then in April this year, Animal Care was called out again when two of Hernandez's dogs escaped. The Animal Care even told him at least once to fix a gate to keep the dogs inside his yard.

During an interview, the owner of the dogs, Hernandez, told police that his dogs had a history of escaping and attacking neighbors in the past. Hernandez was arrested and booked into county jail on suspicion of negligent homicide. The case is under investigation. Arizona state law defines it as causing the death of another person with criminal negligence.

In 2011, Arizona passed a law that penalizes people who knowingly own aggressive dogs with a history of biting people. Owners can face felony charges if they "know or have reason to know that their dog has a history of biting or a propensity to cause injury" to another individual.

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Written by Jess Smith

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