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One 13-Year-Old Boy Dead, One Hurt, After Dog Attack In Paterson, N.J.

PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- One 13-year-old boy was killed, and another was injured, following an attack by a dog Saturday in Paterson, N.J.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said the bull mastiff escaped from its property Saturday morning, and came into contact with the two 13-year-old boys a short time afterward.

The dog attacked the boys as they walked along Sherwood Avenue between Crosby and Chamberlain avenues, Paterson police said.

One 13-Year-Old Boy Dead, One Hurt, After Dog Attack In Paterson, N.J.

The boys ran in different directions afterward, and one was reported missing. Following a search, the boy was found dead at Rossiter Avenue and Hill Street, police said.

The boy's body was found near a crate behind the house where the dog lived, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.

Neighbor Orlando Cepeda saw the second boy bleeding from his hand as he walked home.

"He said, 'The dog bit me.' My wife, she can hear knocking, he said, 'I'll go down here to my house, I go down here to my house, I live on the corner."

The boy was treated at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson for a bite to the hand, prosecutors said.

One 13-Year-Old Boy Dead, One Hurt, After Dog Attack In Paterson, N.J.

Neighbors said the dog was kept in a fenced-in backyard and it was not clear how the animal escaped.

They also told CBS 2 that this isn't the first time the dog has attacked someone. A woman across the street said the same dog once bit her son.

"This is the second time that dog attacked somebody. I have major concerns about the fact that that dog is able to jump over that fence," neighbor Randy Billie said.

"We've seen him sit in the car or bark at us and stuff like that," 17-year-old Rezwana Islam told WCBS 880's Jim Smith. "Thank God, yeah, 'cause like that could have been us. You never know. So I'm kind of glad I'm scared of dogs and I stayed away from him."

Marcus Lugo's grandmother lives next door and told Smith the dog did get out before.

"The dog would be able to hop the fence because it was that tall and that big," Lugos said.

Authorities killed the dog, and the animal will be tested for any possible diseases, prosecutors said. The Regional Medical Examiner's office is handling that investigation

The exact cause of the boy's death remained under investigation Saturday afternoon, and an autopsy will be conducted.

Investigators have also been canvassing the area for witnesses, prosecutors said.

No criminal complaints have been signed in the matter, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Paterson police Detective Bureau at (973) 321-1120.

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