Massive dogs belonging to Mission: Impossible star Ving
Rhames attacked and killed a live-in caretaker at the actor's Los
Angeles home on Friday, police said.
The caretaker, whose name was not released by authorities, was
found dead on the front lawn of Rhames' gated home in an expensive
Brentwood neighborhood, covered in dog bites, a Los Angeles police
spokesman said.
Several large dogs were running loose on the property when
police responded to the scene shortly after 7:15 a.m. (1415 GMT)
and animal control officers took three huge bull mastiffs and an
English bulldog into custody.
"It appeared that the person suffered a number of injuries as a
result of the dog mauling," Sgt. Lee Sands said. "There were
numerous dog bites all over his body, but the exact cause of death
is pending the coroner's ruling."
Sands said four dogs, the largest weighing nearly 200 pounds (90
kg), were being quarantined as part of an investigation into the
attack.
He said it was not yet clear how many of the dogs had taken part
in the mauling or why they had turned on the caretaker. The victim,
who worked for Rhames for two years and lived on the property, was
pronounced dead at the scene.
Television pictures showed the body being removed from the
scene, covered in a blanket. Neighbors said that they had never
seen signs of aggression from the dogs.
Representatives for Rhames, who is out of the country shooting a
film, had no immediate comment. The 46-year-old actor is best-known
for starring alongside Tom Cruise in all three "Mission:
Impossible" films.
Rhames has a long list of film and television credits winning a
Golden Globe and Emmy nomination for starring as Don King in a 1997
TV movie about the flamboyant boxing promoter.
The actor discussed dogs during a 1999 interview with the
Los Angeles Times, describing a 1-year-old Fila Brasileiro
(Brazilian Mastiff) he owned at the time as having been bred to
guard slaves.
"It was the only dog they found that had the temperament to
guard a slave," Rhames said in the interview. "It could be around
you every day, but if you tried to run away..."
(China Daily via AP August 4, 2007)