Pit Bull Kills Woman In Yard Of Stockton Home

STOCKTON (CBS / AP) -- A 38-year-old woman in Stockton was mauled to death by a pit bull on Thursday.

Det. Dave Konecny of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department said that the woman was killed on Thursday night in the front yard of the home where the dog, named Russia, lived.

Her family identified her as Claudia Gallardo, a mother of three.

County animal control officers are holding the dog pending an investigation.

Neighbors told The Record of Stockton they were not surprised by the attack because the pit bull had jumped its fence and attacked people before.

Russia's owner, Brian Hrenko, was not home when Gallardo was killed and speculated that she might have entered his yard to talk to him about cleaning his home.

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