Haverhill police believe a coyote involved in a Friday evening attack may have died after being struck by two vehicles, but the department has not confirmed the animal’s status. Officers searched for it with a drone after it entered a wooded area and did not locate it, according to the Shrewsbury Post and Boston 25 News.
What happened
The incident occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 on Briarwood Road, where neighbors had gathered for a child’s birthday party, Boston 25 reported. A coyote approached a two-year-old before a nearby man, identified in the reports only as Julio, intervened. The animal knocked him down during the encounter, and a neighbor helped drive it away. The accounts differ on that intervention: Boston 25 described the use of a folding chair, while the Shrewsbury Post, citing a Haverhill police update, reported that a shovel was used.
Injuries and conflicting accounts
Boston 25 reported that Julio suffered scratches and bruises, went to a hospital and received rabies and tetanus shots as a precaution. That report said he was not bitten. The Shrewsbury Post reported instead that police said the coyote bit him on the arm. Because the available accounts conflict, the bite cannot be stated as confirmed. The child was not hurt, according to Boston 25.
The Shrewsbury Post reported that the coyote got up and fled after the initial confrontation, was later struck by one vehicle, got up again and was struck by a second. Police last saw it heading toward a wooded area. Residents were advised to use extra caution outside; neighbors also urged people to keep children and pets indoors while the animal’s status remains unknown.
