An 11-year-old boy was killed in a dog attack at a home in south Edmonton where the city said other attacks have occured this year.
The Edmonton Police Service said the fatal attack happened Monday around 8 p.m., near 82nd Street and 11th Avenue SW in the Summerside area.
When officers arrived, they found a “severely injured 11-year-old boy who had been attacked by two very large dogs.”
They tried to save him, but the boy was declared dead.
Edmonton police forensics investigators arrived at the house late Tuesday afternoon to begin their work processing the tragic scene.
A “beware of dog” sign was affixed to the front garage door. Another sign warning “guard dog on duty” hung in the front window.
An area resident who Global News has agreed not to identify due to safety concerns said they’d complained to City of Edmonton bylaw several times about dogs at the home in question.
“The city failed that little boy,” the neighbour said through tears, becoming emotional when talking about the complaints they said they and other neighbours had filed.
“My initial reaction was the city failed the boy because they weren’t listening to our complaints.”
The two dogs were seized by animal control peace officers, police said.
The neighbour said they’ve been voicing concerns about the property to the city for over a decade, during which time the residence was home to different dogs.
“That was the original complaints. I’m not sure when these dogs actually came to live in the house,” they said, explaining there were different breeds but wasn’t sure what kind.
“Very strong, very big dogs.”
“Last summer got really bad. They were barking continuously,” they said.
The City of Edmonton said EPS is leading the investigation into the attack, but was able to confirm animal control had been called to the residence previously.
That included peace officers responding to multiple barking complaints in the past year, which the city said resulted in warnings and one ticket.
There have been two other dog attacks inside the house this year alone, the city said.
“In 2024, animal control peace officers responded to two attack complaints isolated to inside the private residence. One complaint is still under investigation while the other was concluded without charges,” the city said Tuesday afternoon.
The neighbour wants the City of Edmonton to review its bylaws.
“They need to (take it) seriously when people put complaints in, especially with these aggressive dogs.”
It’s believed the dogs belong to a person who lives at the residence the child was visiting, Edmonton police said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
The neighbour said they’d seen the child at the home before.
Police did not reveal the breed of dog.