TOMS RIVER — A pit bull was euthanized after it attacked two children on their way to school in Ocean County, authorities say.

Toms River Assistant Township Attorney Anthony Merlino told News 12 New Jersey one of the children, a 4-year-old, needed 35 stitches in the face and neck after the dog pinned the child to the ground last Thursday. The child's mother was bit in the arm as he tried to pull the dog off, Merlino said. A neighbor hit the dog with the hammer several times to finally free the child, he said.

The owner of the dog, Angelique Andersen, had raised the 3-year-old dog but never had it neutered, which Merlino said makes it "doubly aggressive," according to the report.

Anderson turned the dog over to animal control and agreed to have it euthanized.

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