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A coyote that Texas officials think bit three children at a park is set to be “humanely euthanized,” leaders in Arlington said Thursday.
Arlington Animal Services captured the coyote Thursday morning after the bites at Parkway Central Park in north Arlington, a city that sits between Dallas and Fort Worth.
The animal will be tested for rabies at the Texas Health and Human Services in Austin, the city said on X.
An animal control officer and a police officer were at the park because of “aggressive coyote activity at the park” when they captured the animal, according to the city.
The officers said they saw the coyote on a road near the park before it charged at them, the city said in a statement.
“This animal was completely unusual because … it started walking toward me. I’ve never seen a coyote do that,” Arlington Police Sgt. Eric Belisle told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. Typically, “they spot you and they get out of the area quickly. This animal was completely different.”
The park will remain closed until further notice, the city said, adding that it will partner with the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Wildlife Services “to evaluate and determine next steps.”
The three children were bitten between Saturday and Tuesday at the park on the playground or in the parking lot, the city said in a release Wednesday. All were treated and released from the hospital.
They will also get post-exposure rabies treatment, the city said.
After the first child was bitten Saturday, Arlington Animal Services set a trap and began to search for the animal, according to the city.
The city decided to close the park Tuesday, prompting animal services to set more traps and enact patrols after news of a second child being bitten came to light, the city said.
Later, the city learned that the third child was bitten Monday, according to the release.
