On Wednesday, an upstate New York man was mauled to death by a pack of pit bulls in a vicious attack.
According to the NY Post, James Provost was 59 years old and lived in Schenectady. Tragically, Provost was attacked and killed by ten pit bulls. The dangerous dogs were reportedly kept next door to the property Provost was killed on. The property which held the dogs is apparently a suspected drug house.
According to Albany police chief Eric Hawkins, the attack was unprompted and took place around 6 PM. Hawkins described the attack as "horrific."
Shockingly, a blurred video of the attack was obtained by CBS 6. The video shows the dogs pouncing on Provost, as he tried to fend them off. The video continues on to show the pit bulls dragging a seemingly unconscious Provost.
Upstate New York Man Killed by Pack of Pit Bulls
Eventually, a police officer arrived on scene and found eight or nine pit bulls still attacking Provost. The cop eventually opened fire, killing one of the dogs, and spooking the others off of the victim.
Chief Hawkins reported that nobody was sure how Provost ended up at the property where he died. Moreover, the dogs did not belong on the property either. They had crossed over from the next-door property. Eventually, the pack of pit bulls was wrangled back inside of their home and away from Provost, but the damage had been done.
Notably, the house which the dogs lived within had been raided in May, due to suspected drug activity. During that raid, five to seven dogs had been confiscated. Those dogs were later released, and it is not known if they were involved in Wednesday's fatal attack.
Chief Hawkins confirmed that a total of 24 dogs were found in the property in question on Wednesday. 15 of those 24 were puppies, and all were confiscated and given to the local New York humane society.
Charges had not yet been charged as of Thursday, but Chief Hawkins swore that the department would find out "who, if someone is criminally responsible for this."
Regardless of the charges to come, Provost's life has come to untimely end, and such is a tragedy.