Pit bull breaks away from chain, mauls man to death in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A pit bull apparently broke away from a chain and mauled a man to death early Tuesday as he screamed for help, police said.

Dayton police responded to a report of a man yelling, “Jesus, help me, help me!” at around 4:40 a.m. The 911 caller said the man was yelling at “the top of his lungs” amid the sounds of dogs barking loudly. He said the man was also crying.

Lt. Mark Ponichtera said police found the man being attacked in an alley. They were able to get the dog to back off, and the man was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police fatally shot the dog, which they say was a pit bull. They were trying to determine its owner. Three other dogs were turned over to animal control.

Police didn’t immediately have the man’s identity. They described him as middle-aged.

The southwest Ohio city had two high-profile dog mauling deaths in 2014 — one of a 7-month-old boy, the other of a 57-year-old woman.

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