‘Aggressive’ pit bull shot and killed after fatally mauling a California man

Deputies shot and killed a pit bull in Stockton after it fatally mauled a man following a fight between the victim and the dog’s owner.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office received a report at 3:49 p.m. Saturday of a pit bull attacking a man at a home in the 500 block of North Gertrude Avenue.

Deputies arrived to find a “loose and aggressive” pit bull in a yard as the injured victim, Earl Wayne Stephens Jr., lay nearby, the sheriff’s office said.

Stephens was “badly bleeding with multiple dog bite wounds,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

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In order to reach Stephens and render aid, deputies had to shoot and kill the pit bull, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Stephens was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Neighbors told KOVR-TV that the dog’s owner and Stephens got into an argument before the pit bull attacked.

The pit bull was one of three on the property, the news station reported. The pit bull attacked Stephens, then turned around and bit its owner, according to the news station.

Deputies said they are still investigating the mauling. No arrests have been made.

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