Pete Shuttleworth,BBC Wales and
Colette Hume,BBC Wales, Rogiet, Monmouthshire
BBC
Police were called to a property on Crossway, Rogiet, on Sunday evening
A nine-month-old baby has been killed in a dog attack in south-east Wales.
Officers and paramedics went to a property on Crossway in Rogiet, near Caldicot, Monmouthshire, at about 18:00 GMT on Sunday.
The dog was seized and removed from the address, Gwent Police said.
Police were working to establish the breed of the animal and no arrests had been made.
Ch Supt John Davies said: “Officers are on scene and will be making further inquiries as the investigation progresses.”
Residents said they were in disbelief at the death of the child, with the community in shock and trying to come to terms with what had happened.
They said they saw police cars and ambulances on the quiet residential street at the time of the incident.
Rogiet county councillor Peter Strong said the village was in mourning.
“It’s a deep and profound sense of shock that such a thing should happen in amidst our quiet community,” he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
“A baby is a deep source of joy and love and to lose a baby in these circumstances is just awful.”
Residents said they were in disbelief at the death of a child
Mr Strong appealed to people to “stay calm, to give the family the space they need to grieve in peace”, adding that villagers would “stand together”.
There was a police presence overnight at the semi-detached house and a police car was parked outside.
On Monday morning, other than the hum of the commuters travelling on the nearby M4 motorway and the odd train going past on the south Wales mainline, Rogiet was relatively quiet – just the odd dog walker or locals leaving for work.
Additional reporting by Paul Pigott and James McCarthy
