James Alexander Smith, 50, and his infant granddaughter were found dead on the street after an apparent mauling attack by pitbulls.
The horrific incident occurred in Tennessee.
According to Fox8, when police arrived at the scene, they "observed the dogs attacking the infant. The dogs were reportedly killed to stop the attack."
However, according to the news site, "two people—identified as 50-year-old James Alexander Smith and his 3-month-old granddaughter—were already deceased."
A neighbor, Brian Kirby, told the television station that "he came home from work and saw a woman in the middle of the street screaming." Kirby alleged that the dogs had killed his pet cat previously.
NBC News also reported that arriving authorities "found pit bulls mauling the 3-month-old girl." However, the network reported that authorities are still working to determine the exact cause of death for Smith and his granddaughter.
The attack occurred in Tullahoma, Tennessee, NBC News reported.
According to the District Attorney General's press release in Manchester, Tennessee, at about 3 p.m. on December 3, the Coffee County Communications Center received a call “regarding the apparent mauling by pitbulls of an adult male (later identified as James Alexander Smith, 50 years old) and an infant (later identified as the 3-month-old granddaughter of Mr. Smith) in the 900 block of East Warren Street."
The police “arrived at the scene and observed the pitbulls actively mauling the infant. The dogs were killed to stop the attack. Regrettably, it was obvious that both victims were deceased," the release says.
The release said the investigation “is ongoing to determine cause of death of the individuals, whether the mauling was postmortem, past violent history with these or other dogs in the home, current or past issues related to the children requiring intervention by the Department of Children’s Services and other potential issues that may have contributed to this situation.”
“No decisions have been made at this time as to what, if any, criminal charges are appropriate," the release adds. "As indicated above, the dogs involved in the mauling have been euthanized. Other dogs in the home have been taken into the possession of the Tullahoma Animal Control to determine the appropriate action to be taken with respect to them.”
The press release said that ”this was an especially difficult and brutal scene. Please pray for the family of the victims in this difficult time as well as the first responders as they cope with the trauma from what they witnessed.”