Pedro Ortega, 26-years old, was killed by his three XL bullies in Mesa Viking Park in San Diego.
Killed by XL Bullies
San Diego, CA - A Mira Mesa man is dead after being mauled by his XL bullies in a neighborhood park. After a 911 call reporting a dog attack, police were dispatched to a children's playground in Mesa Viking Park in the 11200 block of Westonhill Drive. Officers used a Taser to stop the attack. The man had been with his own child, who was unharmed. Bystanders intervened by hitting the dogs with shovels and a golf club, which were found at the scene, along with torn clothing and a shoe.
The park is located next to Ericson Elementary School. Police quickly captured two of the dogs, but a third remained at large, causing police to lockdown the school. Police later found the third dog at the owner's home, which is close to the park. NBC San Diego reports that one of the bystanders who intervened was also attacked by the dogs. Both victims were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital, where the dog owner was pronounced dead at 4:45 pm. The status of the second victim is unknown.
Neighbor Steve Marto captured photos of the dogs while police were at the scene. "They were big. I guess they call them XL bullies. They are just like massive muscle," Marto said. His son, Stewart Marto, said, "I don't understand why someone would want to have three dogs that size. You're just looking for a problem in my opinion." All three dogs were confiscated by the San Diego Humane Society and placed into bite quarantine. The dog owner's young son is now with his mother, police said.
The Martos also spoke to 10News. "You don't really have stuff like this that happens here... Like somebody's face got mangled at this park. An hour from now this park can be filled with kids coming out of that school. It's sad that that could've happened to little kids -- the elementary school's right here," Stewart said. Like his father, he also described the XL bullies as massive. "These dogs were freakin' huge. They were probably close to 120 to 150 pound dogs," Stewart told NBC San Diego.
Victim Identified
On Monday, the victim was identified as 26-year old Pedro Luis Ortega. He was with his son on the playground when his three XL bullies attacked him. Arriving police officers Tased the dogs, causing them to flee. One entered into a nearby garage. The homeowner, Kevin Pratt, said the dog was blood-soaked. "He was covered in blood, head to toe. So, it was probably not his own, and he had a taser dart sticking out of him," Pratt said. Images of the dog were captured on his surveillance camera.
That dog was later secured in a vehicle near the park. The other two dogs eluded authorities but were eventually captured. A Good Samaritan who tried to help Ortega by beating the dogs with a golf club sustained serious injuries. He was transported to a hospital, where he continues to recover. All three dogs were initially placed into bite quarantine then humanely euthanized after being surrendered by their co-owner. A memorial where the fatal dog mauling occurred says, "RIP P.O. We Love You."
The same XL bully is seen standing in a garage with a taser dart sticking out of its neck.
At least one XL bully being confiscated at Mesa Viking Park after the fatal dog mauling.
Torn clothing, a shoe and broken golf club seen at the Mesa Viking Park dog attack scene.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.Related articles:
07/04/24: 2024 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by His XL Bully, the Largest Sized Pit Bull Breed Variant
11/20/23: 2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Male Teenager, 15, Killed by a Pair of American Bully-Mixes...
07/07/23: Rational Voice Emerges in the UK as Violence by the XL Bully Surges - Dr. Newport
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.
This is in my county. You found the one out of four or five news articles that actually mentioned the breed of dog; the others did not and one even said that information was not available. Great pictures of the dogs, too, Colleen.
XL bullies and the Cane Corso are becoming more and more popular on Craigslist Pets, being re-homed as adults and as puppies in San Diego county and adjoining counties. This does not bode well.
It’s unclear why other media did not identify the breed. XL bullies are well publicized, especially given that the UK, Scotland and Ireland banned the breed over the past year. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ban-on-xl-bully-dogs
As a former broadcast journalist, I’m always alert to whether or not the breed of dog is identified. Because news outlets get so much pushback from viewers, they often don’t mention the breed. It’s unfortunate because it would be one way of educating the public. Also, news outlets love their “feel good” stories about some poor pittie that needs to be adopted. In addition to pharmaceutical commercials, the behemoth pet food industry is buying time-it’s a major source of revenue. That’s why dog attacks in general are often not even covered. It’s the old adage: Follow the money.
Thank you, Teresa….I too, was a newspaper reporter, and my heart and sense of justice were often crushed by the news that will not be reported because of money interests.
Thanks for the explanation. I’ve always wondered why dog attacks weren’t usually covered by network news. NBC Nightly news for example has aired so many sappy feel good dog stories over the years, yet when a child is mauled to death by pitbulls, no coverage. If a person watched only NBC Nightly News, they’d presume all dogs are 100% gentle, the most docile animals on the planet. Can’t offend the dog food industry/advertisers now can they. Sigh.
It’s a miracle this idiot only got himself killed and no kids were hurt. This is why pits need to be regulated.
You can’t trust pit owners to use common sense like NOT taking three dogs (when they likely couldn’t handle ONE acting up) to a kids park next to a kids school.
Yep, KaD, my thought as well, wth would anyone take one mauler to a kids park, much less, three?? I’m sorry his child had to witness that, but relieved it was the adult owner who got the business end of his mutants, NOT his child.
And I’m sure like every other pit owner he’d swear up and down that ‘My dogs would never”.
I read that a lot of them are descended from one stud dog that had his sperm shipped to England and spread across the USA. They are monsters. It was horrible for children to witness that. They are also inbred from that monster stud dog who was actually a killer. I have forgotten where I read the article, unfortunately.
Killer Kimbo and others, which served as foundation stock. Much has been written about this, here is one: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/14/britains-xl-bullys-descend-one-inbred-pet-us-killer-kimbo/
Another horrific, bloody attack. And, again, a Good Samaritan was also injured. (We don’t know yet how badly.) And, imagine what this poor child witnessed. He or she is scarred for life after watching their father torn to shreds by the family dogs. Thank God no other children were present.
I can’t stop thinking about what that child witnessed, either – and it was an entirely preventable tragedy caused only by (I presume) the father’s desire to own “tough” dogs. It’s a miracle the dogs didn’t turn on the child as well, or target the child first, as pitbulls tend to do.
The only reason why they don’t mention the dog is a pitbull in a fatal dog attack is because they don’t want to anger the pitbull cult. Do I feel bad for him heck no.I only feel bad for his baby.Christmas is around the corner and his son can’t spend it with him and he is going miss his son growing up too because of his own lovable pitbull kill him .I’m glad the dog didn’t harm the little boy.who care how big the dog is that nothing why are they a big deal of it a little boy witness his dad brutal death from dogs that more important the the size of the dogs.
Yet another example of FAFO.
Yes, but an innocent child had to lose a parent and witness his horrible, violent death. That’s the thing – even when it’s the owner who is fatally mauled, it rarely *only* affects them. How I wish pitbulls could be universally annihilated.
I’m not going to say much about his XLbullies. He was probably brainwashed into believing XLbullies were much
safer than pitbulls. Isn’t the biggest problem pitbulls and people don’t trust them? Most folks probably don’t know
the breeds to make XLbullies.
10 News San Diego just reported that the San Diego Humane Society has euthanized all three XL Bullies. A second owner of the dog gave them permission to do so, and said that they were purchased with the understanding that they were XL Bullies.
Anyone find social media for the owner?
I bet there are pics of the killers in stores and restaurants.
Glad no innocents were injured when his canine IEDs went off.
The dead man’s child is going to have a long row to hoe.
It is rough growing up without a father and rougher still to watch him get ripped limb from limb by his “loving pets”.
Hope the good Samaritan that was attacked makes a full recovery and the 3 beasts had their rabies shots.
Granted the odds of 3 XL Pits all being current on their shots are slim to none.
Just named him today, “A man, who we now know was 26-year-old Pedro Ortega, was with his son by the playground- mauled by his own three dogs.” Will be back in a few hours to do an update: https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/watch-video-shows-one-of-the-dogs-that-killed-its-owner-moments-after-attack
Colleen, the video of the blood-soaked XL bully in those people’s garage is chilling. They had the good sense to remain still. The emaciated, mutant was fresh off the kill. Of course, because the killer had ribs showing, cries of abuse will give rise to why the dogs killed their owner. There’s always a lot of excuses but no good reasons from pit bull lobbyists. The reason is crystal clear…these dogs were born to kill.
Yes, it’s unfortunate the witness made the comment about ribs showing. It’s perfectly normal for a young short-haired dog to have somewhat visible ribs. I watched the video and the dog appeared to be a normal weight to me, but that will absolutely embolden pit advocates to cry abuse.
If the dog was hypothetically hungry, why didn’t it scavenge through garbage or tear open a bag of kibble? No, this beast had killer genes.
I looked at the video and the dog didn’t look at all emaciated, it was a nice healthy weight. I will agree it wasn’t a chunky monkey like my dog, and you could see a few ribs but nothing wrong with that. Sickening how after every attack they go into immediate damage control.
Here’s the link to the Bully Watch UK’s coverage of Kimbo: https://banthebullyxluk.wordpress.com/2023/08/01/finding-kimbo/
Perhaps if PD hadn’t spent time carefully capturing 2 of the 3 killer dogs, the 3rd would not have escaped.
It annoys me when I see the killer dogs led safely away on the end of a pole: Kill killers onsite so they don’t kill again! I understand not wanting to shoot with kids nearby. How about someone invent a capture pole laced with pink juice?
A dog that kills its owner is broken forever and a danger to everyone.
Once they’re saved at the scene, it’s a risk they will somehow get free to kill again. The 3rd dog headed toward school children. Maybe the other 2 will be declared fit for rehoming? We just can’t anticipate the levels of stupidity that may prevail.
Real dog lovers would steer clear of dangerous breeds because these incidents traumatize young witnesses, who will likely then develop a lifelong fear of all dogs.
With so many safe dog breeds around, why choose one of these monsters for yourself and your family??
I’ve seen videos of pitties and xls showing how friendly they are. But to me their excessive licking and mouthplay resemble how canapes whet the appetites of gourmets.
I agree.
It seems a waste to use tasers and tranquillizer darts on confirmed killers.
Sadly if a cop fires his weapon he is then on desk duty until that firing of the weapon is investigated.
It has gotten to the point that police will not dispatch dangerous dogs because it is too much paperwork and small departments cant afford to loose an officer for weeks, sometimes even longer while an investigation is done.
Another reason police are gun shy around killer dogs is every pit pusher in the country will call the department’s emergency number to complain about the “poor widdle pitty they murdered”.
This man brought his child and 3 very large dogs to the playground all at the same time? How was he supposed to take care of his child while trying to control 3 dogs of any breed? As with most of these dogs’ owners, I can’t wrap my head around the thought process that led to this. I can’t imagine this scenario ending up in a good way, no matter how you look at it.
Because it’s not about caring for the child.
It’s about showing off. Goes something like this:
Look at me! And look at my super-sized dogs! I’m so special!
This victim paid money for those dogs, and they probably weren’t cheap. That money plus what he spent on dog food and veterinary bills could have been put into college funds for his two children. Instead they will grow up without any support from him at all.
At least the dogs didn’t attack the little boy or his sibling-to-be.