Coyote dragged 4-year-old girl toward woods after biting her at Arlington park: 911 caller
The 911 calls that reported two coyote attacks at an Arlington park reveal details on what callers witnessed and how dispatchers responded, according to audio obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
Arlington city officials announced on Feb. 16 that a coyote was captured after people reported separate incidents at Parkway Central Park in which three children were bitten. The park was closed to the public from Feb. 13 to Feb. 20.
The captured coyote believed to have bitten the children was “humanely euthanized” to be tested for rabies, according to the city. It tested negative.
As a result of the incidents, traps were set and Animal Services surveyed the park and the surrounding area.
Due to aggressive coyote behavior reported to the city, police officers patrolled the perimeter of Jones Academy of Fine Arts and Dual Language on Feb. 15 because the school is not far from the park. Officers saw the coyote suspected to be responsible for the attacks and captured it after it charged them, according to the city.
The first 911 call reporting a coyote attack was made on Feb. 10 and starts with the caller asking for an ambulance, according to the audio obtained by WFAA.
“I have a little girl who just got attacked by a coyote at the park,” said the caller. “It’s a big coyote — it’s coming back. Oh, Lord Jesus.”
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In the audio, the caller is heard repeatedly saying that the coyote was coming back.
She told the dispatcher that the 4-year-old girl who was attacked was playing with her dad at the park.
When asked if the coyote went away, the caller said the coyote was on the playground where he attacked the girl and “dragged her like in the woods and her daddy went chasing after her.”
“The kids are in the car now, but the coyote is still on the playground. She’s bleeding and crying,” said the caller. In response, the 911 dispatcher said that paramedics were on the way and urged the caller to safely stay away from the coyote.
The second 911 call was made on Feb. 13, when the caller described seeing a young boy bleeding after being attacked by a coyote, according to WFAA.
“There’s a coyote here,” the woman told the dispatcher.
The victim was a 6-year-old boy who was heard crying in the background of the call, WFAA reported. The caller told the dispatcher the boy was bleeding, but was still able to walk.
The dispatcher instructed the caller on how to help stop the child’s bleeding while an ambulance was on the way to the scene, according to the report.
City officials later learned after these two incidents were reported that a third child was bitten at the same location on Feb. 12. All of the children were expected to recover.
Residents can make online reports of coyote sightings in Arlington by visiting the city’s Action Center website and clicking on the Wildlife Sighting tab.
