Families who were queuing up to use a food bank have told how they sheltered inside a church while armed cops chased a killer dog.
Chris Morley, is pastor of the Grand Union Vineyard Church in Milton Keynes, which is just yards away from the house where four-year-old Alice Stones was mauled to death by a dog yesterday afternoon.
The 58 year old said: "At the time we were running our community fridge food bank at the church and had a queue of about 70 people waiting to get food.
"The church is close to the house where the incident happened.
"The queue was outside the building and the police arrived and wanted to secure the area so they moved everyone inside the church.
"The police acted in a very community orientated way.
"Armed police turned up and for some people that was very scary.
"There were armed police and everyone was moved inside and it was quite an anxious time for people.
"They were kept inside for about an hour."
Little Alice was attacked on Tuesday at around 5pm in a property in Broadlands, Netherfield.
Emergency services rushed to the scene but she was pronounced dead.
No one else was hurt as a result of the incident and the dog was shot dead by police.
A neighbour told reporters: “We heard desperate screams last night. I heard ‘she’s dead! She’s dead!
"It sounded like Louise shouting. They were piercing screams.
“They’ll stay with me forever. It was a nightmare. I’m heartbroken. They will haunt me."
“It’s horrendous. Alice goes to school with my children. It’s so upsetting.”
Alice's grandfather, who lives nearby, described the tragedy as "horrendous" and said the family are trying to come to terms with it.
Pastor Morley added: "Our hearts go out to the parents of the little girl, the first aid responders that were met with the horrific scene and the community.
"You see people walking their dogs with their children in this community and it is a normal family area with a strong community.
"We just do not know the circumstances and will wait for the police to say more."
Meanwhile floral tributes were left outside the house.
A card on one bunch of flowers said: "Rest in peace beautiful girl. Love always."
Another read simply: "Fly with the angels lovely. Xxx"
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sent his condolences to the family of Alice Stones and thanks emergency services.
Superintendent Matt Bullivant said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident, in which we believe that a child has been killed after being attacked by a dog.
“Clearly, we are in the very early stages of an investigation, and it would be wrong and unhelpful to speculate as to the exact circumstances of this incident at this point.
“However, in order to ensure public safety, a decision was made earlier this evening to destroy the dog involved, and this has been done humanely.
“I understand how much of an impact this will have on the community and on the wider public, and people can expect to see a large police presence in the area this evening and beyond while our investigation continues.
“I would like to reassure people that there is no reason to believe there is any danger to the wider public at this time.
“Anyone with concerns should feel free to approach our officers and ask questions, but I urge people not to speculate about the circumstances, especially on social media platforms."
