SAN DIEGO — Authorities Monday publicly identified a Mira Mesa man who was fatally mauled by his own dogs in front of his young son last week at a park near their home.
Pedro Ortega, 26, and his child were walking the three animals at Mesa Viking Park on Westonhill Drive when the dogs attacked him about noon Friday, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
Bystanders tried in vain to break up the attack prior to the arrival of police, who used an electric stun gun to disperse the dogs.
Paramedics took Ortega to a trauma center, where he was pronounced dead. A second person received hospital care for serious bite wounds suffered while trying to halt the attack, according to the San Diego Humane Society.
Two of the dogs -- described as XL bullies, a type of stout, muscular breed similar to a pit bull terrier -- were caught shortly after the attack, but the third remained on the loose for a time. Authorities at nearby Ericson Elementary School put the campus on lockdown until authorities located the animal and got it into custody.
All three dogs were euthanized with the consent of Ortega's family.
In a press statement, the Humane Society asserted that there was "no previous history involving these dogs in (the agency's) records."
In January, due to a spate of attacks involving the animals, officials in England and Wales banned the ownership of XL bullies unless owners provide proof of neutering and liability insurance and consent to keeping the animals muzzled and leashed while in public.
Prior to 2021, there were only about three fatal dog attacks per year in the United Kingdom, but at least 23 have occurred since then, many involving bullies, according to BBC News.