An elderly Mead resident was mauled to death Monday afternoon by two pit bulls, the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office said.

James Hurst, 92, was taken to the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma, where he died, according to Undersheriff Ken Golden.

He was mauled very, very badly,” Golden said. He was alive at the point when they loaded him onto the ambulance, and he died at the hospital.”

According to Golden, Hurst was working in his yard that afternoon when the dogs attacked him. No one actually witnessed the attack but a neighbor had seen the dogs bothering him earlier in the afternoon.

The dogs were picked up by Durant Animal Control and are expected to be euthanized, according to Golden.

Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates said there appeared to be blood on the pit bulls.

District Attorney Emily Redman has been notified, and she will determine, what, if any, charges will be filed against the owner of the dogs. Golden said charges could be filed if it can be determined there had been prior reports about the dogs being vicious.

According to Golden, the pit bulls have a history of getting out, although no one had reported it to authorities. He said Mead has a leash law, but it cannot be enforced because the town does not have a police department, and the county does not have the authority to enforce town ordinances.

Authorities can quarantine a dog if it bites someone, and Golden said a boy had been bitten on a leg by one of the dogs, but no one reported it.

“We told the folks that we can’t do anything if we don’t know about it,” Golden said.