Suspect arrested after 81-year-old man killed in dog attack

SAN ANTONIO (Gray News) - A Texas man is in custody in connection to a brutal dog attack that killed an 81-year-old man and wounded several others.

Christian Alexander Moreno, 31, faces multiple felony charges, including “attack by dangerous dog resulting in death” and “injury to an elderly person by omission or negligence,” according to a police news release. He is the owner of the dogs involved in the Friday afternoon attack.

Authorities say the dog attack happened after an 81-year-old man and his 74-year-old wife arrived at a friend’s house in San Antonio. When the couple got out of their vehicle, they were attacked by two dogs that had escaped a nearby yard.

Police said on Facebook that firefighters arrived to find the dogs still actively attacking the couple and tried to help. They had to fight the dogs off with their emergency tools.

The 81-year-old man, identified by the medical examiner as Ramon Najera, and his wife both suffered critical injuries in the attack. Police said in a news release that two other men, one the couple’s relative and the other a San Antonio Fire Department captain, were bitten.

All four victims were taken to the hospital, where Najera died of his injuries. In a Saturday update, police said the other three victims were treated and released.

The dogs involved in the attack and another dog from the same household that was left unrestricted were taken in by San Antonio Animal Care Services and euthanized.

The dogs were described to police as American Staffordshire terriers.

Officials say they have previously received calls from neighbors about the dogs. Police say at least two of the dogs were “involved in a pair of confirmed bite cases in the past.”