Complete write-thru with updated information from original post at 4:14 p.m.

 

ADAMS, Mass. — An Adams man is dead after a bizarre incident in which he was mortally wounded when a good Samaritan tried to save him from a dog attack.

 

The name of the victim is being witheld pending identification by the Chief Medical Examiner's Office and notification to the next of kin.

 

According to a statement from the Berkshire district attorney's office, the responding police shot two aggressive dogs outside an apartment on Bellevue Avenue and found a man with a fatal crossbow injury inside the apartment and an unharmed child in a nearby room.

 

Investigators currently believe a neighbor heard the commotion, called police, and then made entry into the apartment. The neighbor got a crossbow and shot at the dogs. The arrow struck one of the dogs, went through a door, and then struck the individual being mauled as he was attempting to barricade himself from the attack.

 

The early indications are that the death is accidental and the neighbor is cooperating with authorities.

 

The incident began after the police received multiple 911 calls around 12:15 p.m. reporting that the victim was being mauled at 19 Bellevue Ave. Adams Police say responding officers and a K9 Unit found two mature male pitbulls — both with a history of being aggressive — engaging in a volatile confrontation. The dogs then turned to attack the officers.

 

Officers used their service weapons to neutralize the animals. The ballistics portion of this incident remains under investigation.

 

State and local authorities were stationed on Bellevue Avenue near the Glenn Street intersection for most of the afternoon. The street was closed off with crime scene tape and the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force's vehicle was parked blocking the entrance onto Bellevue. Something small was lying in the roadway, presumably one of the dogs, and covered by a blanket. 

 

Police vehicles were parked near a multi-unit building a short way up the narrow road from Glenn Street. The area is densely populated and not far from the downtown. A neighbor at the scene told iBerkshire that he had heard a gunshot around the time of the incident. 

 

The State Police Detective Unit assigned to the district attorney's office as well as the state police Crime Scene Service, Crime Lab and Firearm Identification Section, along with Adams Animal Control, Adams Police,  Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the DA's office responded to the scene and will perform a full investigation.