THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek police say a 5-year-old boy has died after being mauled by two Rottweiler dogs.

Police said the boy and his mother were visiting a friend for the Orthodox Easter festivities in the northern village of Argilos on Sunday afternoon, when the dogs attacked the child.

The dogs had been kept in a confined space by their owner, a retired military officer, but somehow escaped and attacked the child in the house's courtyard.

The boy died soon after being transported to a hospital in the nearby city of Kozani with severe neck injuries. Police say the dogs' owner was arrested. The dogs were taken away by Kozani municipal workers and temporarily placed in a shelter for stray animals.