Police and fire officials are investigating the death of seven pit bull puppies who were killed in a fire over the weekend.
It happened around 7 p.m. Saturday at a home on Arlington Avenue in Rock Hill. The fire started in the homeowner’s backyard; the puppies were in a wooden kennel.
“I’m sorry for those little puppies; I am really am sorry for the little puppies," said neighbor Maggie Culp.
It's an incident so unusual, the neighbors trying to make sense of it all.
“It could’ve been from lightning that is a possibility. I feel like this was something that was a freak accident," said Culp.
Several emergency agencies rushed to the home on Arlington Avenue. When they arrived, flames covered the backyard.
The news devastating for neighbors like Bobbie Harvin who’s a friend of the owners.
"They try to take care of these dogs as they would a child,” neighbor Bobbie Harvin said.
NBC Charlotte obtained the police report and learned no one was home at the time of the incident. An arson investigator has been assigned to the case.
“I don’t think they left home thinking their dogs were in danger,” said Harvin.
No charges have been filed, and fire officials are investigating the cause.