Man died after dog attack at home, police say

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) – A Missouri man died after he was attacked by a dog Wednesday afternoon.

Police responded to a home in an Independence neighborhood around 2:30 p.m.

The dog was attacking the victim when officers arrived at the home, according to the police department.

One of the responding officers shot at the dog because of the extent of the victim’s injuries.

The dog then reportedly became aggressive toward the officers, and the officers shot the dog a second time and killed it.

Officers provided emergency treatment to the victim until an ambulance arrived and took the victim to a hospital.

The victim, identified as Tyler Jones, later died from injuries suffered during the attack, police said.

“He was my baby. He was a mama’s boy, that I know,” Carla Jones, the victim’s mother, said. “I told him just when they were little. When we hang up, you always say I love you because you don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Jones said her son was playing with the dog when the situation suddenly turned violent.

“You know, the dog did what he did,” Carla Jones said.

Jones said her son’s last words to her were about his faith.

“He always said, ‘Mom, I will go to heaven. I know you will,’” she said. “(He) said, ‘I know you will.’”

Investigators said no one else was injured during the attack.

The police department said its officers and those from animal control had never been to the house before Wednesday afternoon.

Police are investigating what led to the attack.