.
The
dog grabbed the baby after the little girl opened the back door of the
house to stroke the two-year-old pet which lived in the yard.
The
unnamed tot, who was staying at his grandparents house, was in the care
of his 16-year-old aunt, who was also looking after the seven-year-old
and a six-year-old girl when the tragedy occurred.
Officers attended at the scene at around 3.30pm on Friday and found the one-year-old with serious injuries in the back yard.
He was taken to Pinderfields Hospital but pronounced dead at 9.10pm.
The female dog was seized and destroyed.
Detective
Superintendent Steve Payne, of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and
Major Enquiry Team, said: "Clearly our thoughts go out to the family at
this tragic time.
"They are understandably devastated by what has happened and are being supported by specially trained officers.
"The
circumstances of the incident are still unfolding and we are speaking
to the children that were present at the scene. The boy who died was
staying at his grandparents' house during the Christmas holidays.
"What
we know at this time is that the dog was a family pet, a two and a half
year old female Rottweiller, which the family had owned for about six
months.
"Although the dog lived in the yard of the premises,
it had interacted with members of the family including children, and
another dog and cat at the house, and had showed no previous signs of
any aggression.
"The circumstances surrounding the incident are
that the 16-year-old auntie was present in the house at the time and
was caring for three other children, a seven-year-old girl, a
six-year-old girl and a one-year-old infant. This was a common
occurrence and again the 16-year-old and the children were known by the
dog.
"At around 3.25pm, the 16-year-old auntie was upstairs
when the seven-year old, who was carrying the one-year-old child, went
to the kitchen door, which leads into the yard where the dog is kept,
intending to stroke the dog.
"The door was opened and without
any warning, the dog snatched the baby from the youngster's arms and
carried him into the yard.
"Clearly distressed by this, the
youngster immediately alerted the auntie, who went straight into the
yard and attempted to recover the child.
"Despite striking the dog, she was unable to do so and returned to the house to alert the emergency services, at 3.30pm.
"Within six minutes, paramedics and police officers were in attendance at the scene.
"On their arrival, the child was found lying in the yard of the premises suffering from serious injuries.
"A paramedic officer entered the yard, recovered the child and first aid was administered.
"The
parents of the children, who had been nearby the premises, also
attended within a matter of minutes and assisted the emergency services
to recover the other children from the address, who had sought shelter
in an upstairs bedroom.
"Armed officers also attended within
nine minutes of the emergency services being contacted and found the
Rottweiller in an agitated state and clearly representing a potential
danger to others, and a decision was made to destroy the animal.
"At this time investigations are still ongoing into this tragic incident which has resulted in the death of a young child.
"A post mortem examination will be conducted and the identity of the deceased child will be released in due course.
"Forensic officers are still examining the scene. Clearly our thoughts are with the family at this distressing time."
The
killing is the latest in a string of violent dog attacks that have
scarred for life, seriously injured or killed children and adults.
The
incident could reignite the debate about the laws governing dangerous
dogs - currently rottweilers are not a breed banned in Britain.
Only
four breeds are outlawed by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 - pit bull
terriers, Japanese tosas, the dogo Argentinos and the fila brasileiros.
Though killings by dangerous dogs are rare, hardly a month passes without incident.
In
this year's most high-profile dog attack, on January 1, five-year-old
Ellie Lawrenson was found bleeding to death in the living room of her
grandmother's home in Merseyside after attending a family party.
The dog was shot at the scene by Merseyside Police.
It
was later confirmed that the animal was a "pit bull terrier type"
banned under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act. Ellie's uncle, 23-year-old
Kiel Simpson, admitted owning the dog and was jailed for eight weeks in
May.