Johannesburg -
A school groundkeeper was killed after he was attacked by three pitbulls in Primrose, Germiston, on Saturday, and the owner of the dogs could be charged with murder.
The man, apparently a 45-year-old working as a groundkeeper at Oosterkruin Primary School, was not far from the school when the attack happened on Weert Road.
Police spokesman Sergeant Frank Nkuna said on Sunday it was believed the dogs escaped from a gap near the gate of the owner’s house.
Another officer from Primrose police station said a passer-by who witnessed the attacked tried to intervene but was overpowered by the dogs and was bitten.
Eventually, an off-duty police officer intervened and shot dead one of the dogs.
The two remaining dogs were taken to the Germiston SPCA.
Nkuna said it was not clear if the gap through which the dogs escaped was there long before the incident.
He said an inquest had been opened at Primrose police station.
Nkuna said that if it was found that the dogs’ owner, who was not at home at the time of the incident, was negligent, he or she would be charged with murder.
- The Star