A four-year-old girl who died after being attacked by a dog has been named as Alice Stones.
She was fatally injured in the back garden of a house in Milton Keynes yesterday evening.
Emergency services had been called shortly after 5pm to a reports that a dog had attacked a child at a property in Broadlands, Netherfield.
Police quickly confirmed that Alice had died at the home.
One neighbour told the Sun: ‘It’s horrendous. Alice goes to school with my children. It’s so upsetting.
‘The police rushed here very quickly. I could not believe it.’
Residents explained how they were put on ‘lockdown’ while police swarmed the house.
One man told the newspaper: ‘When I tried to go look at my back garden even, I got told to go back inside. I was basically on lockdown.
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‘About an hour later two armed police officers came knocking on my door.
‘They requested if they could come into the property to ascertain what the property looked like upstairs and downstairs so they could get an idea of what next door would look like.’
Councillor Maggie Ferguson wrote on Facebook: ’Our thoughts are with you and your family tonight, r.i.p little sweetie.’
A vigil is being arranged at a local church following the tragedy.
No one else was hurt as a result of the dog attack, and Alice’s family is being supported by specially trained officers at this incredibly difficult time.
No arrests have been made in connection with the investigation.
Superintendent Matt Bullivant said: ‘This is an absolutely tragic incident, in which we believe that a child has been killed after being attacked by a dog.
‘Clearly, we are in the very early stages of an investigation, and it would be wrong and unhelpful to speculate as to the exact circumstances of this incident at this point.
‘However, in order to ensure public safety, a decision was made earlier this evening to destroy the dog involved, and this has been done humanely.
‘I understand how much of an impact this will have on the community and on the wider public, and people can expect to see a large police presence in the area this evening and beyond while our investigation continues.
‘I would like to reassure people that there is no reason to believe there is any danger to the wider public at this time.’
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