A 5-year-old boy is recovering from head wounds after a second coyote attack in Monmouth county in six weeks.
The incident occurred Monday night near the corner of Pomo Court and Hopi Drive in Middletown Township. Brayden Gazette?s mother said the boy was playing with his sister and neighborhood kids when a coyote bit him in the back of the head.
?The coyote came out of the woods, well the trees, and jumped on him and knocked him down,? Joann Gazette said. ?My daughter heard him scream and yelled at the coyote and then the coyote ran off.?
Brayden required stitches after the attack. He has also started a series of rabies shots.
The incident comes six weeks after 22-month-old Liam Sadler was attacked by a coyote on Chapel Hill Road. Township Administrator Robert Czech said police will now be more aggressive in catching the coyote.
?If we see the animal, we will shoot to kill the animal,? Czech said. ?We don?t want to take a risk that this can happen again if we don?t have to.?
The Department of Environmental Protection said if and when the coyote is trapped, it will put it down and conduct an autopsy to check for rabies.
For interviews with the boy?s mother and Robert Czech, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO extra.
Related Information:Middletown Police Department - (732) 615-2100