Fall River woman attacked by coyote while walking her dog

A coyote was put down after attacking a woman who was walking her dog in Fall River on Monday, Fall River Police said. 

The woman sustained multiple bites and was transported to the hospital. No update has been given about her current condition. 

While walking her small breed dog near the woodland area of South Winds Apartments at around 5:45 a.m, the woman observed a coyote approaching, Sergeant Moses Pereira said. 

“She picked her dog up and began making noise and yelling and screaming in an attempt to scare the coyote away,” Pereira said. “Unfortunately, the animal did not flee.”

The coyote bit both of her legs and left arm. The woman continued to fight the coyote off and it eventually ran away. Her screams alerted nearby residents, who called the police. 

Soon after police responded to the attack, they received a call at Fall River Country Club, which is less than a mile away, that the coyote attempted to attack a groundskeeper, Pereira said. 

Police said the groundskeeper was able to fend off the coyote and did not sustain any injury. When officers responded to the coyote “they could see the coyote staring at them while they were continuing to do their work,” Pereira said.

“After attacking one individual and attempting to attack a second individual,  Officers were forced with the difficult decision to put the animal down in order to prevent any additional attacks.”

The coyote’s body has been sent to the Division for Animal Health to test whether or not it was positive for rabies at the time of the attack.