Pit bulls fatally maul Conn. toddler

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WEST HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Pit bulls attacked and fatally wounded an 18-month-old child in an apartment in West Haven, Conn., authorities said.

The attack occurred Friday evening while the child was laying on a blanket on the floor of one room of the third-floor apartment, the New Haven Register reported. The dogs had been in another room but somehow got out. It wasn't clear whether anyone else was in the room when the attack occurred.

The child, whose name and gender were not reported, was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital Friday night, police said.

"We won't have answers from autopsy for a couple days, but the child from description severely injured by the animal," Moscato said.

There were three pit bulls in the apartment but it was not clear whether two or three of them were involved in the mauling. Police Sgt. Angelo Moscato said the dogs had been euthanized.

It also wasn't clear if the apartment tenants were friends or relatives of the victim but police said the tenants owned the dogs.