The dog that killed a 7-year-old Maine boy over the weekend was a pit bull, according to a law enforcement official.
The adult male pit bull has since been euthanized at its owner's request, Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton said at a press conference Monday.
The child killed has been identified as Hunter Bragg of Bangor. Morton said Bragg was playing in the yard at 207 Moody's Mill Road in Corinna at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday with two other children when the dog attacked him. The boy was already dead when first responders arrived at the scene. No one else was injured.
Hunter's father, 35-year-old Jason Bragg, was in the residence at the time. The dog's owner, Gary Merchant, 45, of Corinna, was also inside.
Morton said Hunter was a student at the Downeast School in Bangor and school officials were notified of his death.
Morton said his office continues to investigate the death. At this time it isn't known what might have prompted the attack.
The town manager in Corinna told WCSH-TV on Monday that the dog was not registered.
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Neighbors on Moody's Mills Road said the family is quiet and keeps to itself, but has loud dogs that can often be heard barking.
The victim's cousin, the dog's former owner, told WCSH the animal "was a good and loving dog" and showed no previous signs of being aggressive.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been established for the Bragg family to help cover the costs of Hunter's funeral.
"He was loved by so many family and friends. He had a charisma about him that would put a smile on anyone's face and he always had a smile on his face," his aunt Jennifer McClure told necn in a statement. "He had a bubbly personality and amazing sense of humor and was a very smart kid. He acted a lot older than he really was. He was my cutie patootie and a lot of people's buddy."
