A Brooklyn boy was fatally mauled by a family dog Friday in a split-second attack that may have been prevented.
Jayelin Graham, a 4-year-old boy, was killed when the dog, a Cane Corso Mastif, erupted in a violent rage, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. No one seems to know what set off the dog, but apparently the animal was already a known menace in the neighborhood.
"Within a split second it happened," Calandra Jubeark, the boy's aunt, told WABC-TV. e "[Saquina Jubeark, the boy's mother] said, 'The dog wouldn't let go.' It's painful."
The dog's owners maintain the dog did not have a vicious nature, but neighbors seem to disagree, accoridng to ABC.
A man who tried to save the boy from the dog said as soon as the dog had the child in his jaws, there was no hope.
"He was trained to kill," the man told the Daily News. "He had the boy by his throat. The dog was shaking him. He had no chance."
According to ABC News the dog apparently belonged to the boy's mother's boyfriend.
Jayelin's other siblings have since been removed from the apartment, though the dog was tranquilized and taken away following the attack.
Charges are yet to have been filed.