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Pit bull kills two-year-old girl near Pittsburgh

Police say the dog attacked Paylynn Devaugh inside a home in West Mifflin around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.

  • By Staff Associated Press

| West Mifflin, Penn.

Police say a 2-year-old girl has died after being mauled by a pit bull in a Pittsburgh suburb.

Police say the dog attacked Paylynn Devaugh inside a home in West Mifflin around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.

The girl was pronounced dead at Jefferson Memorial Hospital.

Police say Paylynn lived in nearby Forest Hills.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday. The investigation is continuing.

West Mifflin is about 10 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.

According to the website dogbites.org, which tracks "dangerous dog breeds":

  • 42 U.S. dog bite-related fatalities occurred in 2014. Despite being regulated inMilitary Housing areas and over 700 U.S. cities, pit bulls contributed to 64% (27) of these deaths. Pit bulls make up about 6% of the total U.S. dog population.2
  • Together, pit bulls (27) and rottweilers (4), the second most lethal dog breed, accounted for 74% of the total recorded deaths in 2014. This same combination also accounted for 74% of all fatal attacks during the 10-year period of 2005 to 2014.
  • Annual data from 2014 shows that 48% (20) of the fatality victims were children 13-years and younger, and 52% (22) were adults, 20-years and older. Of the total adults killed by dogs in 2014, 73% (16) were ages 50-years and older.
  • In 2014, 19% (8), of all dog bite fatality victims were either visiting or living temporarily with the dog's owner when the fatal attack occurred, down from 38% in 2013. Children 6-years and younger accounted for 88% (7) of these deaths.
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