Crime & Safety
Rye Brook Police: Officer Killed Coyote Believed Responsible for 2 Attacks
Chief Greg Austin says at press conference that the animal lunged at the cop.
Rye Brook Police Chief Greg Austin said at a press conference this afternoon that the coyote shot and killed today was likely the same animal that attacked two young children in Rye Brook Sunday night.
Austin said an officer shot the coyote around 9 a.m. today after the animal lunged at him.
"To protect himself, the police officer discharged his weapon, striking it once and killing it," Austin said.
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The kill happened less than 24 hours after the coyote attacked 14-year-old Eric Mandel and a 2-year-old and her father in Rye Brook.
The first incident occurred on Eagles Bluff at 6:50 p.m. Sunday, when Mandel was playing with other children in the front yard of a home when a coyote lunged at him.
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"The 14-year-old, fearing for the smaller children on the front yard, was able to fend off the coyote by hitting it twice in the face," Austin said.
Mandel's actions caused the coyote to retreat into the woods. The scents of Labor Day weekend barbecues may have lured the hungry coyote toward the neighborhood, police said.
An hour later, Jared Zuckerman was playing with his daughter in the driveway of his father's home at 29 Hillandale Road when a coyote attacked the 2-year old girl. The canine grazed the girl's arm and drew blood until her father was able to shield her, at which point the coyote bit him on the back of his upper thigh.
All the victims involved are alright and were treated at local hospitals and tested for rabies.
Jim Horton, the village's licensed trapper, said he also believed the coyote shot and killed was involved in Sunday's attacks because it displayed the same aggressive behavior toward humans when Horton and his fellow trapper tried to corner the animal.
The trappers began collaborating with police last night in an attempt to lure the coyote toward them. Unsuccessful, the search continued Monday morning when a coyote confronted two trappers near Bluebird Hollow, less than a half a mile from where the first attack occurred.
As the animal made eye contact with Horton, it lunged toward him, forcing Horton to hit and strike the coyote to protect himself. As both trappers cornered the coyote in a fenced in area, the other trapper also had to fight off the aggressive animal.
Horton also said the coyote, which had a severe case of mange, chewed off the head of one of its pups. The coyote was killed after trappers called in nearby officers, one of whom shot the animal in a wooded area behind 257 North Ridge St.
Austin said the dead coyote was taken to the New York State Department of Health, where it will be tested for diseases, including rabies. Though Austin said it is likely the same coyote responsible for Sunday's attacks, authorities won't be certain until DNA tests are performed, which could take days.
As local schools open tomorrow, Austin said he had notified the superintendents of surrounding schools and told them that police would support whatever precautions they choose to take to protect students.
Rye Brook Mayor Joan Feinstein said the village has tried to address the coyote issue during the last few months, ever since two girls in Rye were attacked by coyotes this summer.
"Rye Brook has been proactively addressing this regional coyote problem since the incidents that occurred in our neighboring city of Rye in late June," Feinstein said. "The village has been trapping in this community since Aug. 6 and as a result of the activities these past two days this trapping will continue."
