ST. HELENS, England, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A 5-year-old British girl was fatally mauled by a pit bull that may have been spooked by New Year's fireworks.
Ellie Lawrenson was staying with her grandmother, Jackie Simpson, in St. Helens near Liverpool, The Independent reported. The pit bull belonged to her uncle.
Simpson heard the little girl screaming shortly after 4 a.m. Monday, police said. She dragged the dog out of the room, receiving injuries so severe that she had to be hospitalized.
Ellie died from "severe head and neck injuries."
Some neighbors told The Independent that some of Keele Simpson's dogs have been a problem. But one man said the pit bull was "soft as a puppy."
"I can only think that the noise, the flashes and bangs, from the fireworks have triggered the attack," Phil Davies said.
The dog, Ruben, was shot at the scene because officers decided it could not be safely removed.
