A two-year-old girl is in critical condition after being mauled in her home by a pit bull.
The girl, named Aria, was with her mother at their home in Phoenix, Arizona, with several other people when the dog attacked her on Tuesday evening, AZFamily.com reported.
Phoenix police told the station that Aria was in her mother's arms when the pit bull jumped up, snatched the girl and began to maul her.
Someone in the house shot and killed the dog, but the family haven't revealed who fired the weapon. No gun has been recovered from the home.
Aria was taken to hospital with critical injuries, but is expected to recover.
Her mother, who has not been named, told AZFamily.com that the toddler spent most of Tuesday night in surgery and faces a long road to recovery, which includes more operations.
A family friend told the station that Aria's grandfather and his girlfriend owned the pit bull. The little girl and her mother live with the grandfather.
The friend added that the pit bull is usually not aggressive and the attack was "out of character."
"I was just talking to the owner—the owner of the dog—and he's pretty broken up about it, especially since it's his granddaughter it happened to," the friend said.
Kacey Gorrie, who said she is Aria's aunt, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover the girl's medical bills.
Gorrie said Aria is in a critical condition at Phoenix Children's Hospital and "very heavily sedated" after getting more than 2,000 stitches in her face.
"[Tuesday] night was one of those nights no family wants to EVER experience," she wrote in a post on the fundraising page. "My beautiful 2 year old niece was attacked by a pit bull and almost mauled to death."
She added: "She spent all night in surgery with the trauma team here and had to get over 2,000 stitches in her face. We're still waiting on more news from the plastic surgeon and eye doctors, but there is going to be a very long road to recovery for this precious little girl."
She said the family "aren't really the type of people to ask for help," but with hospital bills piling up and more surgeries ahead "all the help, love and prayer is very appreciated."
Gorrie and the Phoenix Police Department have been contacted for additional comment.
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