PALMDALE, Calif. – Authorities in rural Los Angeles County were warning people to be on the lookout for four pit bulls suspected of killing a 63-year-old jogger Thursday.
Sheriff's Lt. John Corina told reporters that a woman in a car saw the dogs attacking the female jogger Thursday morning. The witness called 911 and honked her horn to try to get the dogs to stop.
"When the first deputy on scene saw one dog still attacking the woman, he tried to chase the dog away," Corina said. "The dog ran off into the desert, then turned around and attacked the deputy, the deputy fired a round at the dog and tried to kill the dog, and the dog took off into the desert."
The woman died of her wounds while she was in an ambulance on the way to a hospital near the high desert community of Littlerock, about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles, said Evelina Villa, county animal control spokeswoman.
Sheriff's officials were alerting people in the area to watch for the four tan-colored dogs, and they were using a helicopter to search for them.
Meanwhile, the woman's death is under investigation.
It was unclear whether the dogs had collars or owners.
"In these areas, you might have a situation where people dump animals out in rural areas," said John Mlynar, a spokesman for the nearby city of Palmdale. He added that he'd never heard of an attack like Thursday's.
Residents who live near the site of the attack said stray dogs are constantly roaming the area and have attacked people before.
"It's really scary," Diane Huffman, of Littlerock, told KABC-TV. "I don't know what to think. I really think I'm going to be getting a gun to protect myself."
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