DETROIT – Three dogs fatally mauled a 9-year-old girl Monday afternoon on Detroit's west side, authorities said.

Police arrested the dogs' owner, a 33-year-old man, following the 4 p.m. attack in an alley but were still trying late Monday to piece together what happened.

"When we first got on the scene, the girl was laying in the alley, and the father was performing CPR," Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said. "Our first arriving unit jumped in and started CPR.

"At that point, the neighbors were shooting at the dogs. We were performing EMS under gunfire."

One dog was struck by a bullet and killed, Fornell said. Detroit Police Cpl. Dan Donakowski said that at one point, someone threw a brick in an effort to stop the attack.

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CPR continued in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, but the girl was pronounced dead after she arrived, Fornell said.

"She suffered severe traumatic injuries," he said.

Initial reports said the girl and another child were riding their bicycles when the dogs attacked. But Donakowski said later that it was unclear whether the girl was with someone else or alone.

Donakowski described the dogs as pit bulls. Detroit Animal Care and Control is involved in the investigation.

Fornell said late Monday that some of the first responding firefighters and EMS personnel were receiving trauma counseling.

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