On Saturday, February 10, 2024, at the Parkway Central Park in Arlington, Texas, a Coyote attacked a little girl, dragging her toward the woods. The girl’s father chased after the coyote and girl and recovered the girl. From khou.com:
“I have a little girl who just got attacked by a coyote,” the 911 caller said. “It’s a big coyote. It’s coming back. Oh Lord Jesus.”
The caller described that children were playing on a playground when the coyote “attacked the little girl on the playground and dragged her, like, in the woods and her daddy went chasing after her.”
“So kids are in the car now but the coyote is still on the playground,” the caller told 911.
The caller then described the girl’s bite wound, as dispatch worked to get an ambulance and officers to the scene.
Traps were set in the park, but the park was not closed. No signs were posted at the park to inform users of the danger.
On Monday, February 12, another child was bitten and taken to the hospital. More traps were set.
On Tuesday, February 13, a six-year-old boy was attacked, bitten, and dragged for some distance. From nbcdfw.com:
“All of a sudden, I heard a mom scream, ‘Oh my God! That dog just bit that kid!’” Estreitta de Kluetz recalled. “I immediately called 911, went over to the little boy, and the little boy was — his whole shirt was filled with blood and he was crying.”
She said the woman, who was holding a baby, herself, threw her shoe at what they soon realized was a coyote. Both ran to help the little boy, who was sitting next to the swings with his brother.
She said she saw the coyote still hovering in the distance.
“… Like watching us. And I was like, ‘You guys, we need to get out of here because he — and then he started kind of creeping,” she said.
After the Tuesday attack, city officials closed the park. On Wednesday, February 14, a coyote believed to be responsible for all three attacks was captured alive after confronting officers. It does not appear any of the traps were successful. The coyote was not rabid. The city said the coyote would be euthanized.
In the nbcdfw.com coverage, a resident made this statement:
“I understand this is their habitat, they were here before we were, I get that completely.”
Another coyote attack in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area occurred in 2022 on May 3rd. In that attack, a three-year-old was critically injured but recovered.
Analysis: Coyotes are protected in urban areas. It is generally against the law to shoot them inside city limits. When the attitude of the public is “This is their habitat; they were here before we were,” they will continue to be protected. As they become more and more accustomed to people, the number of attacks on children will increase. Coyotes were seen in the area immediately after the initial attack. They were not shot. It is hard to understand why the coyotes present were not killed as a safety concern as soon as possible. This happened in Texas, where then-Governor Rick Perry took out a coyote that menaced his dog in February of 2010. Ruger even issued a “coyote special” version of the pistol he used. This did not change coyotes’ protected status inside Texas cities.
Coyote attacks will continue to increase as long as urban areas offer coyotes sanctuary status.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
