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An attack Friday on an elderly couple in San Antonio by a pair of American Staffordshire Terriers led to the death of an elderly man and critical injury to his wife.
The owner of the dogs, Christian Moreno, was arrested on felony charges of attack by a dangerous dog causing death and injury to an elderly person. Mr. Moreno’s three dogs, the two involved and a third canine were euthanized Friday night.
The elderly couple was visiting loved ones just before 2 p.m. local time when, as they exited their vehicle, the two dogs came from a neighboring yard and attacked, injuring both.
Witnesses say the dogs broke through the front gate of Mr. Moreno’s residence shortly before the attack.
Emergency services arrived to see the dogs still attacking the geriatric pair, and an EMS captain was bitten on his leg by one of the canines. A relative of the initial victims was also bitten.
All four victims were transported to a local hospital, where the elderly male victim perished from his injuries and the elderly female victim remains in critical condition. The deceased has been identified as 81-year-old Ramon Najeras, according to WOAI-TV, a San Antonio NBC affiliate.
“No one expects to go out and fight dogs in the way they did today. It was a horrific scene, horrific for the people who had to experience it and for the firefighters who were part of the rescue who had to save themselves and these people attacked today,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said at a press conference.
Friday’s incident was not the first time Mr. Moreno’s dogs had attacked others. At least two of the three dogs were involved in bite cases in September 2021 and January 2023; the victims declined to pursue a dangerous dog designation after these incidents.
A police visit to Mr. Moreno’s home on a dog-related call in November 2022 saw officers warn Mr. Moreno that his dogs were supposed to be confined to his yard.
American Staffordshire Terriers descend from ancestral bull and terrier dogs, and are similar in size, shape, and appearance to pitbull-type dogs.
