Three year old boy dies after being ‘attacked by a dog’ in Rochdale

A three year old boy has died after police believe he was attacked by a dog in Rochdale. Paramedics rushed to the scene at Carr Lane, Milnrow, shortly after 1pm on Sunday, to reports the youngster had been injured.

He was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances.

Greater Manchester Police have said a criminal investigation has been launched following the fatal incident. Police were called to the scene by paramedics at 1.15pm on Sunday (May 15)

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A huge police presence was pictured at the Milnrow home on Sunday afternoon, as well as numerous ambulance vehicles. An air ambulance also attended the scene, with one local person telling the M.E.N that police had been going “backwards and forwards up there all afternoon and evening”.

Police have said they suspect the child had succumbed to his injuries after being attacked by the dog in what they described as a ‘distressing incident’ that will ‘rock the local community’.

Detective Superintendent Jamie Daniels, of GMP’s Public Protection and Serious Crime Division, said: “This is a tragic, devastating incident and our thoughts are with the family at this horrendous time. We are investigating the incident and previous incidents involving dogs at this address.

“While our enquiries to find out what happened will be thorough and are very much in their infancy, we suspect that this little boy has, sadly, succumbed to injuries received as a result of a dog attack.

“I understand this is an extremely distressing incident for all concerned and this news will rock the local community.

“I can only assure everyone that we will work relentlessly to establish the full circumstances that led to this tragedy and while we retain an open mind, this is now being dealt with as a criminal investigation.

“There will be a significant police presence in the area – we will be there to carry out an investigation and address any concerns residents may have.”

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 5413 quoting incident 1615 of 15/05/2022.

Information can also be reported online or by using the LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk. If you can’t report online, call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.