NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - A North Attleboro woman says police were forced to take deadly action when she recently came face-to-face with coyote during a frightening attack in her front yard.
“I’ve got two puncture wounds back here and I’m shredded here,” Judy Place said as she showed off her bandaged leg.
Place said it felt like a vise grip when the coyote latched onto her leg Monday around 10 p.m.
“I had blood everywhere on my pants,” Place said. “I just lost it. I was definitely traumatized.”
Place called police when she heard the animal trying to crawl under her mobile home. Place said she pointed officers to the coyote when officers arrived and turned to go back inside, but instead found herself up close with the animal.
“She looked at me. I looked back. When I felt her, I could see her paws were there, almost on my toes,” Place said. “She latched onto my leg.”
Police tried tasing the coyote, but when that didn’t work, they shot and killed it.
Authorities said they believe the same coyote attacked another North Attleboro woman earlier in the day while she was dumping a bag of leaves.
“I guess it went after the bag, not so much her hand. It did graze her thumb,” Animal Control Officer Kristina O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe said there were several coyote sightings on Monday. She believes the coyote was either rabid or that someone had been feeding it.
“When you feed wildlife, you create a bold animal that becomes a dangerous animal,” O’Keefe said.
Place said she thinks the coyote may have been the mother of coyote pups she’s heard in the area.
“I was said because of the pups,” Place said. ” In the end it had to be done.”
Place was tested for rabies and is awaiting the results.
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