Authorities in Missouri are investigating after an Amazon delivery driver was found dead in a suspected animal attack Monday night.
The victim, a man 49 or 50 years old, was found dead outside a home in Excelsior Springs, about 30 miles north of Kansas City, Ray County Sheriff Ray Childers told USA TODAY.
Deputies responded to the home about 7 p.m. after neighbors reported that an Amazon van had been parked outside the residence for several hours, Childers said.
There, he said, deputies found a man’s body in the yard along with two dogs – a German Shepherd what appeared to be a Mastiff.
The man’s wounds, the sheriff said, were consistent with an animal attack.
“When my deputies arrived on scene they entered a shut gate and the two dogs approached them aggressively,” Childers said.
A deputy shot and injured one of the dogs, he said, and both animals ran inside the home.
Childers said when he arrived on scene, he could hear the dogs inside the home and saw blood on a dog door.
The dogs were found inside the home where the sheriff said he fatally shot both animals.
“Due to the nature of some of the injuries to the driver, we can’t confirm if the dogs caused the the driver’s death however we wanted to be safe,” Childers said.
The man’s identity has not been released as his family was still being notified Tuesday, the sheriff said.
At the time of the attack, Childers said, the home owners were out of town.
The dogs were not neglected, Childers said, however the incident remained under investigation.
No charges had been filed in the case as of Tuesday.
The medical examiner will determine the man’s cause of death, Childers said.
“We’re deeply saddened by (Monday’s) tragic incident involving a member of our Amazon family and will be providing support to the team and the driver’s loved ones,” Lisa Levandowski, an Amazon spokesperson told USA TODAY. “We are assisting law enforcement in their investigation.”
According to a report from the U.S. Postal Service more than 5,400 postal employees were attacked by dogs in the United States in 2021.
“We ask all customers to act responsibly by taking safety precautions with their dogs while the mail is being delivered,” USPS Employee Safety and Health Awareness Manager Leeann Theriault said in a June news release.
Theriault said when a carrier comes to a home, pet owners should keep their dog inside the house and away from the door or behind a fence on a leash to avoid an attack.
