DIGHTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Authorities have identified a teen who died after he was mauled by dogs Thursday.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said that 14-year-old Ryan Hazel of Rehoboth was taking care of the dogs for their owner Scott Dunmore, 49, while he was in Boston.
Hazel was driven to the property on Maple Swamp Road by his grandmother who was concerned when he didn’t return to her awaiting car after an hour.
A neighbor who found Hazel called 9-1-1 shortly before 8:00 p.m.
Quinn says Ryan had "traumatic injuries to various areas of his body."
There were 11 dogs on the property at the time of the death; four were found in outside in the yard while the remaining seven were caged.
He said the loose dogs were Dutch shepherds and Belgian malinois. All dogs on the property were taken into custody by Rehoboth Animal Control.
“It was clearly a terrible tragedy for the victim, his family and his friend and the town, my heart goes out to all of them,” Quinn said.
Quinn said it appeared that Hazel had worked on the property for approximately a year watching the dogs and taking care of animals there.
No foul play is not suspected.
Dunmore, the owner of the property, is an accomplished professional dog trainer according to neighbors and his website.
“He’s [Dunmore] been cooperative in the investigation,” Quinn said.
Quinn said that the dogs found on the property were not licensed.
According to Alexandre Magalhaes, superintendent of schools for the Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School confirmed that Hazel was enrolled there.
“This loss is sure to raise many questions, concerns, and emotions from our entire school community, including students, faculty, and staff,” Magalhaes said in a release.
He said that grief counselors would be on hand for students.
“Any student who may need or want help or who is scared, confused or struggling to process this tragedy should know that that help is available…our leadership team will make every effort to provide assistance to our students, families and fellow employees as needed.”
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WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.