Coyote Attacks Boy During Softball Game

A 6-year-old boy needed 20 stitches and several rabies shots after being attacked by a coyote in California during his sister's softball game. Enoch Palomar was with his family at Del Amo Park in Carson on Monday when a coyote began to chase him. The boy tripped on a rock while trying to escape, People reports. "It was too fast and it just jumped," Enoch told KTLA. The animal then bit him on the leg and head before his mother, Melissa Palomar, rushed over, scaring it away.

Enoch later described the experience as "pain, like I got bit from a wolf," and said he tried to kick the animal but couldn't outrun it. His mother said that while she's seen coyotes in the area before, she never expected one to approach a playground full of people. The coyote trotted away afterward, per the Los Angeles Times. Authorities took Enoch's shirt for DNA evidence as they try to track down the animal. Local officials said coyotes are a persistent issue in the region and promised ongoing efforts to protect residents. Melissa Palomar wants the city to take further steps to warn families and hold itself accountable.