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Reports of the animal first came in on Saturday morning, June 4, when three people said they were attacked without provocation in Lake Accotink Park in Springfield. Fairfax County police closed the 493-acre park near the Capital Beltway to search for the coyote.
On Sunday, just after 12:30 p.m., an officer searching for the animal near the first attacks said a coyote snuck up and bit him on the leg, Fairfax County Lieutenant Dan Spital said during a press conference. That officer shot it and searchers found it dead nearby. They believe the same coyote is responsible for all the attacks.
Fairfax County reopened the park around 3 p.m. on Sunday, reports said.
Officials sent the coyote's head for rabies testing, and they expect those results early this week. Everyone attacked suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but they may need to undergo rabies treatment if the test confirms police fears.
On Saturday night, people in a neighborhood off of Carrleigh Parkway near Lake Accotink Park said they saw a coyote in the area biting car tires, Lieutenant Spital said. That hyper aggression is a symptom of the rabies virus.
Experts told the Washington Post that coyotes rarely attack people unprovoked.
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