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‘PIERCING’ SCREAMS
Alice Stones’ horrified mum screamed ‘she’s dead, she’s dead’ after dog mauled girl, 4, to death in back garden
A HORRIFIED mum screamed "she's dead, she's dead" moments after her four-year-old daughter was mauled by the family dog, a neighbour says.
Little Alice Stones was killed in her back garden in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, shortly after 5pm on Tuesday.
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One local, whose children went to school with the youngster, said the incident will haunt them forever.
They told The Sun: "We heard desperate screams. I heard, ‘She’s dead! She’s dead!'
"It sounded like Louise shouting. They were piercing screams.
"They’ll stay with me forever, haunt me.
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"It was a nightmare. I’m heartbroken."
The neighbour said police "very quickly" rushed to the scene in Broadlands, Netherfield, on January 31.
The area was evacuated before armed cops cornered and gunned down the killer dog, which the family reportedly only rescued six weeks ago.
It is understood to be a Pitbull-husky cross, or Pitsky, though this has not yet been confirmed.
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"I could not believe it. It's horrendous, so upsetting," the witness added.
The end-of-terrace house remains cordoned off, and flowers, soft toys and notes are piled up on the pavement.
Thames Valley Police said no arrests have been made and that investigators are working to establish the breed of the dog.
Dozens of mourners gathered at Grand Union Vineyard Church last night for a candlelit vigil to remember the youngster.
Among them was a family friend who said Alice's devastated mum was being comforted by her own mother Karen Hallewell, 56.
They told : "She is beyond heartbroken. Her world has fallen apart. Alice was everything to her."
'BEYOND HEARTBROKEN'
Donna Fuller, a ward councillor for Woughton Community Council, said the vigil was to help the "tight-knit community draw come together and draw strength from each other".
She added: "It will send a strong message to the family that we are thinking of them."
Giving an update earlier on Wednesday, Superintendent Marc Tarbit said that the child's family are being supported by specially trained officers.
"An investigation is currently under way to fully understand the circumstances but we currently believe that this was a tragic, isolated incident and there is no threat to the wider community," he said.
"Accordingly, no arrests have been made at this time.
"I can confirm that the dog was a family pet and was put down by police on the scene yesterday evening."
Neighbour Rita Matthews, 36, said she would see Alice while walking her own daughter to school and described the youngster as a "very happy little girl".
One of the tributes left among the flowers at the scene reads: "Fly high with the angels little one.
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"The whole community will miss your smile. Our thoughts are with the whole family, especially her mum."
Twelve people have been killed in dog attacks in as many months in the UK - the highest rate in 40 years - sparking growing calls for tougher laws.
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