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Family and friends hold vigil for 7-year-old killed by dogs in Lowell

LOWELL, Mass. — Shock and sadness have been consuming a Lowell community since Saturday afternoon after a 7-year-old boy was viciously mauled by two neighborhood pit bulls.

Tonight, dozens of devastated family and friends pushed through their grief to remember the little boy killed by his neighbor's dogs and held a vigil in his memory on their neighbor's yard.

The boy's mother and father tell Boston 25 News reporter Drew Karedes its just too soon to speak about what happened to their child.

Such a sudden and unexpected tragedy has family, friends and neighbors still trying to understand how exactly this happened.

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As candles flickered into the night on Clare Street, the pain and disbelief couldn't have been more clear.

"To have a dog not controlled...it's only a 7-year-old and what I'm hearing is the dog didn't want to let go. What kind of person would have a dog that's not tamed enough?" said Keith Mao, a neighbor.

Investigators say the child somehow got into the fenced in area near his home when he got attacked by the two pit bulls.

"The kid went into the fence, as sad as that is, the dogs didn't jump out of the fence to go after him," said a neighbor who didn't want to be identified. "The kid just made a horrible mistake."

The neighbors who wanted to remain anonymous say they've seen the little boy playing with the very same dogs before. This time, those neighbors were forced to dial 911 when the situation escalated beyond anyone's control.

"My girlfriend was inside (at the time) and she said she heard a gunshot, she thought someone got shot," said Sam Sum, a neighbor.

The gunshot this woman heard was the one that was fired by a police officer at one of the pit bulls.

While loved ones united in prayer in the driveway where the awful attack went down, a neighbor who people are identifying as the owner of the two dogs, came out and left a candle on the front porch for the deceased little boy.

One of the dogs has been euthanized while the other one was taken in by Animal Control.

The Middlesex County DA's Office says they will not be releasing the boy's name.

The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.