71-year-old man mauled to death by seven dogs, owner arrested

A 71-year-old man was mauled to death by seven dogs near his house in Fresno, Texas. The incident took place when the man was on his way to a neighbourhood store last week.

The victim, identified as Freddy Garcia, was killed by the dogs on July 18, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.

The police were informed of the attack by a witness stating that the man was being mauled by the dogs. The police immediately rushed to the scene, and Garcia was airlifted to a local hospital. Garcia later succumbed to the injuries sustained in the attack.

"He was walking down the street. He was not in anyone's yard, he was walking to the store when he was attacked," said Sheriff Eric Fagan.

"He had nothing in his hands. The dogs just attacked him for no reason and no provocation whatsoever. It was uncalled for. It was senseless," he added. The police have been able to capture all seven dogs.

Four of them were captured shortly after the mauling. However, three were on the loose for a brief period of time before they could be captured. All seven dogs were pit bull mixes.

The officials initially thought that the dogs were stray, but the three that had initially escaped capture were found in 47-year-old Samuel Cartwright's yard.

Cartwright has now been arrested in connection with the incident. He has been booked into the county jail on a second-degree felony charge of "attack by a dog resulting in death." His bail is set at $100,000.

According to a report on KTRK-TV, Cartwright maintains that he does not own the dogs and that he had even reported them to animal control officials when he saw them in his yard.

"There's 20 dogs around here right now. If you drive down this back street, there will be 20 loose dogs running around," he said before his arrest. "People just dump them around here. The dogs go wherever they can find food."