Florida Postal Worker Killed by 5 Dogs While Delivering Mail: 'How Did It Get So Far?'

A U.S. Postal Service carrier died after she was attacked by five dogs in Florida when her official vehicle broke down on the job.

Pamela Jane Rock died at a hospital Monday around 7:30 p.m. after the attack, which happened Sunday in Putnam County, Florida, in an Interlachen Lakes Estates neighborhood, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said in a statement to PEOPLE. The area is about 65 miles south of Jacksonville.

Rock, 61, was waiting for assistance with her postal vehicle when the dogs broke through a fence, escaped and mauled her, according to NBC News, citing Putnam County Sheriff's Col. Joseph Wells at a Tuesday news conference.

Neighbors and the animals' owner helped pull the pets away from Rock after they heard her screams. The dogs were contained by the time sheriff's deputies arrived, according to the news release. One neighbor "shot a rifle into the ground to scare the animals," the release reads, though NBC News reported Wells said a neighbor "fired several shots in the air in an attempt to disrupt the attack," which was ultimately unsuccessful.

The owner of the five dogs relinquished custody of the animals and they will be "humanely euthanized," according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Neighbors told NBC that the dogs had been running wild in the neighborhood for months.

Animal control officials had visited the home where the five dogs lived at least two times in the last three years, Wells said Tuesday, but the animals were not deemed dangerous and their owner was cooperative, according to NBC. It's unclear whether the dogs' owner will face any charges over the attack; Wells cited a local statute and said dog owners may be liable if they know their pets are dangerous but fail to "exercise due caution," per the outlet.

Rock was taken to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital and then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville, Florida, where her niece Kaydee Richley told First Coast News that doctors amputated Rock's arm before she died.

"How did it get so far?" Richley told First Coast News on Tuesday. "Why were there so many dogs just able to get to here? Where were the owners, why were they not locked up?"

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"A postal family member lost her life in a dog bite attack," the USPS said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. "The U.S. Postal Service is deeply saddened at the loss of our employee. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and her co-workers at this time."

"The safety of our carriers is of paramount concern to the Postal Service. The Postal Service highlights safety initiatives and provides employees with ongoing dog bite awareness training," the statement continued, noting that the agency participates in National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

The USPS added that mail carriers are instructed to use their mail satchel "like a soft shield" as a first line of defense, and that they also carry pepper spray.

"If a loose dog is known to be on the carrier's delivery route, the address can be programmed into their delivery scanner, and an alert will pop up when they approach that area to warn them," the USPS statement said. "Unfortunately attacks such as this provide the Postal Service an opportunity to remind dog owners that it is their responsibility to restrain their pet in order to avoid attacks against our employees while they are in performance of their duties."

Richley told First Coast News that her aunt finished training with the USPS in December 2021.

"She was just so excited for this new adventure," Richley said.

An investigation is ongoing, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.