A 12-year-old boy has been left brain dead after beingviciously mauled by two Rottweilers that escaped their home and attacked him while he was playing.

Little Guilherme Gabriel Couto was rushed to the Hospital Joao XXIII in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, early on Wednesday morning, on 12th March, after he was attacked while playing ball on a vacant lot in the Santa Marta neighbourhood, in Itabira, in the state of Minas Gerais. The dogs hadreportedly escaped from the house where they were living through a hole in the fence and attacked Guilherme while he was playing with friends.

The animals dragged him into a wooded area before residents intervened and rescued him. He suffered injuries to one of his legs, ribs and one of his arms, as well as to his neck.

He also suffered a punctured artery. Guilherme's family members told local media that he underwent emergency surgery and was unconscious throughout, breathing with the help of machines.

But despite doctors' best efforts, he was declared brain dead. His death has since been confirmed to local media by family members.

The dogs have been put down (

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The dogs, which returned to their home after the attack but remained aggressive, have since been put down by the Military Police. The owner of the animals, not named, but said to be 27 years old, went to a police station after saying that he found out about the attack from locals who had threatened him.

He gave a statement and was released. He is facing charges of manslaughter. The police are investigating the incident.

Earlier this month, Morgan Dorsett, 19, was killed after being attacked by an XL Bully at the home of her cousin in Bristol. Tributes poured in for the teen and more than £7k was raised for her funeral.

An autopsy later confirmed the breed of the dog was the banned XL Bully. The dog was sedated at the scene and later put down. A man and a woman, both in their 20s, were released on conditional bail after they were arrested on suspicion of possession of a prohibited breed of dog. They were also arrested on suspicion of possession of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.

Since the incident, tributes have poured in for Morgan, from Shropshire, who succumbed to her injuries inside a flat in Cobhorn Drive in the Hartcliffe area of Bristol. One neighbour described a blood-soaked woman "hysterically screaming" and "crying" after the attack which happened just "three weeks" after she moved in.

The owner had previously told neighbours she had an XL Bully "with papers", and that it "wasn't great with men, but children and women it was absolutely fine." The XL Bully was banned in 2023 by the British government because the dogs had been "disproportionately involved" in deaths,

A fundraiser to help cover the teenager's funeral costs has amassed almost £7,000 in just three days. It was set up by Sharon Harris who wrote: "The tragedy of losing a loved one is painful, that pain must be unimaginable when you loose someone so young and in such a tragic way.

"Morgan was a a truly beautiful girl. One of the ‘blonde bombshells’. She was strong, kind, and so full of life.

!The loss will be felt by all who knew her and no more than in our close community. I cannot find the words that are going to comfort her family, but I need to feel that I am doing something."