DALLAS — A Dallas toddler was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday morning after a coyote attacked the 2-year-old in front of the child’s home.
Dallas police confirmed to KDFW that the attack occurred at around 8:30 a.m. in the Lake Highlands community.
Responding officers learned that the child was attacked while sitting on the home’s front porch, WFAA reported.
An officer shot at a coyote spotted near an area park, but it remained unclear Tuesday afternoon if the animal was involved in the attack or if it was struck by a bullet before running into the woods, KDFW reported.
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Meanwhile, the Dallas County game warden has joined the search for the animal, which all area residents should consider extremely dangerous, the Dallas Police Department stated, urging residents to call 911 if they spot a coyote.
As a precaution, officials with the Richardson Independent School District will keep all students at nearby White Rock Elementary indoors all day, WFAA reported.
Should the animal not be located by the end of the school day, families that have students who walk home are asked to either pick up their children or walk with them, the school’s principal wrote in a letter to parents.