A 78-year old East Texas man was killed by two at large pit bulls outside his Beaumont home.
Man Killed by Dogs
Beaumont, TX - A man is dead after being mauled by two pit bulls on Monday. Just before 11:00 am, Beaumont police were dispatched to a residence in the 1400 block of Orange Avenue regarding a welfare check for a man who was bleeding after a vicious dog attack. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died, police said. The dogs involved were two pit bulls, according to police. Both dogs were captured after being tranquilized, according to Viviana Lopez of Beaumont Animal Care.
KBTV-TV captured images of the dogs inside the Beaumont Animal Care facility. One is clearly a female. The gender of the other dog is not known. The name of the victim is currently being withheld until next of kin have been notified. The age of the victim has not been released. It is not known if the dogs belonged to the man. Detectives and animal control officers are actively investigating the man's death. Butterflies and wind chimes were seen hanging from the front porch of the residence.
KBMT went to the scene and captured images of police detectives and animal control officers taking photographs in the backyard of the home. The tranquilizer gun was also seen being held by an officer in the backyard of the home. Life-size pop up Christmas statues of Santa and Snowman were seen in the front yard of the home. A neighbor told the media outlet, "the dogs are always on loose" in the neighborhood. It's not know if the pair of pit bulls have a history of previous bites or aggression.
Mauling Victim Identified
On Tuesday, the victim was identified as 78-year old Hector Pierna, who lived on Orange Avenue. When police arrived at the scene, they found Pierna suffering from dog bites. He was transported to CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital where he died. Two pit bulls were responsible for the attack. Police located one of the dogs hiding underneath a home -- that dog was tranquilized. The second pit bull was also found and also tranquilized. Both were taken into custody by Beaumont Animal Care.
A message from Officer Carol Hettinger with Beaumont Animal Care indicates the pit bulls were running loose and did not belong to the victim. "Please, immediately call the minute you see something running loose, so that we can try to take care of stuff before these kinds of things happen," Hettinger said. "It's an unfortunate incident and I just wish we could've taken care of it, prevented it from happening before it happened." No information about the suspected dog owner was released.
GoFundMe Established
A family member created a fundraiser to help with his funeral costs. She writes that "our beloved 78- year old uncle ... Hector Pierna, was viciously attacked and killed by two pit bulls." He was attacked while walking home. "These pit bulls were running lose in the streets as my uncle was walking home. This was a senseless, vicious crime that could have been prevented by the dog owners." The holidays, she writes, "will never be the same for his kids that are left behind with no living parents."
The captured pit bulls seen at the Beaumont Animal Care facility after the fatal dog mauling.
Hector Pierna, 78, was killed by two pit bulls on December 16, 2024 in Beaumont, Texas.
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Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
Just another day in MaulMerica. I hope he was the owner and not an innocent neighbor.
A neighbor told the media outlet, “the dogs are always on loose” in the neighborhood.
It’s not clear if he was a neighbor or the owner. Spotty reporting as usual. Let’s hope it was the owner/volunteer.
It’s not clear whether these were owned dogs or strays.
They could have been dumped by a prior owner and neighbors feeding them.
“Please, immediately call the minute you see something running loose, so that we can try to take care of stuff before these kinds of things happen,” Hettinger said. “It’s an unfortunate incident and I just wish we could’ve taken care of it, prevented it from happening before it happened.”
Wow – this is double-talk straight out of “the Manchurian Candidate”!
Time to disband this agency and bring in the National Guard.
The phrase “unfortunate incident” being employed in regard to the brutal mauling of a human being makes me furious.
They really do downplay the fatal dog attacks especially when an adult victim. It wasn’t an accident; the dogs were attacking with intent to kill, and they did. An unfortunate accident would be the dog playing and someone fell and hit their head. If 4 people had been killed in week by alligators or bears there would headlines for weeks about it.
Victoria, you’re right on the mark. Network news loves to report shark, alligator and bear attacks. (If it bleeds, it leads.) Then, we’re told at the end of the story…don’t worry you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than killed by one of these mammals. After these recent deaths (5 of them?), I’ve not seen ONE national story. It’s only because of Colleen’s investigative journalism that we even know about these attacks. We have a major public safety issue in this country and no one is talking about it…except for here.
They haven’t found the owners. Meanwhile, pitbulls continue to attack.