3 Pit Bulls Maul Calif. Mom and 3-Year-Old Son: 'Worst Thing I've Ever Seen in My Life'

Chris Harris
Updated

An attack by three pit bulls has left a 47-year-old California woman and her 3-year-old son hospitalized with serious injuries, and now officials are determining what to do with the animals.

A press release from the Vallejo Police Department confirms the mauling occurred on April 6.

The victims are not named.

The statement from police states the female victim had agreed to watch the three dogs. However, the statement does not provide any identifying details about the dogs’ owner.

Police confirm criminal charges are unlikely in this case.

PEOPLE learns the animals have been quarantined. This week, animal control officials will determine if the dogs should be euthanized following the attack.

The statement says that officers were summoned to the woman’s home after neighbors saw her and her son being attacked in her backyard.

One of the three dogs involved in the attack | Vallejo Police Department
One of the three dogs involved in the attack | Vallejo Police Department

“Officers immediately separated the dogs from the victims using pepper spray and physical force,” reads the statement. “The dogs have since been identified as pit bull terriers each weighing approximately forty to fifty pounds.”

According to KGO, the boy suffered multiple bites to the face, chest and his arms and legs.

His mother sustained bites to her head and arms.

Both are listed as being in stable condition.

One of the three dogs involved in the attack | Vallejo Police Department
One of the three dogs involved in the attack | Vallejo Police Department

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Neighbor Doris Hutcherson told KGO the attack “was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

According to Hutcherson, she heard screams coming from her neighbors’ yard and witnessed the horrifying attack.

“[The dogs] were trying to pull the baby away from her,” Hutcherson told KGO. “And it seemed like she was trying to protect her baby with her body.”

Doris called 911 while her husband, Steve Hutcherson, ran down to distract the dogs, hitting a garbage can with a golf club.

“By the time they got here, the dogs had dragged her to the other side of the fence,” Doris Hutcherson explained.