PHOTO: An African painted dog appears in this file photo.Victim: Maddox Derkosh, two, 'didn't stand a chance' of surviving after falling 11 feet into the dog pit at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium while his horrified parents Jason and Elizabeth Derkosh looked on helpless

The 2-year-old boy mauled by African painted dogs Sunday fell over the railing on which his mother put him to view the wild animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo, police said.

The boy died after falling 14 feet into the exhibit, said Barbara Baker, director of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Barker said it's unclear whether the boy died from the fall or from the attack.

Zoo officials tried firing darts to scare the dogs away from the child, but the animals, which are pack hunters, did not immediately respond.

The dogs were eventually moved from the exhibit, with the exception of one, which had to be shot after it continued to "be aggressive" to the boy, Baker told a news conference Sunday.

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