Baby killed and parents injured in apparent attack by family dog, New Jersey police say

An infant was killed and the child's parents injured in an apparent attack by a dog at a New Jersey home over the weekend, authorities said.

Middlesex County prosecutors and Woodbridge police said officers responded to the Woodbridge Township home shortly before 6:30 a.m. Saturday over a report of an unresponsive baby believed to have been attacked by the family dog.

Authorities said officers found that the mother and child "had sustained serious injuries from the dog." The baby was pronounced dead at the scene. The mother and father were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The names of the victims weren't immediately released, and officials didn't clarify the current status of the animal. Authorities described the investigation as "active and continuing" and asked anyone with information to call Woodbridge police and county prosecutors.

Authorities did not disclose the breed of the dog.

About 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States annually, according to Forbes, but only around 30 to 50 people die due to dog bites each year. However, nearly 30% of fatal dog attacks involved a victim between the ages of 1 and 4, Forbes reports.

Last June in Michigan, an 11-month-old boy died after he was attacked by the family dog while playing in the backyard. Four months later, a 4-year-old boy was killed by a dog in Detroit.

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