A young boy received 20 stitches to the back of his head, back and legs after a coyote attacked him in a playground in Carson earlier this week.
Enoch Palomar, 6, was rushed to the emergency room on Monday after a coyote bit the boy repeatedly from behind. Palomar and his family were watching his sister’s softball game at Del Amo Park when the attack happened.
A parent at the softball game was recording the match when they inadvertently filmed a portion of the attack. In the video, Palomar can be heard screaming frantically as the coyote tugs on him from behind. Another video showed a coyote roaming around a nearby field.
“I was trying to kick it to leave and I was trying to scream at it to get scared and run away and when I screamed at it, it didn’t really work,” the child said.
The boy added that when he initially saw the coyote, he thought it was a dog. As it began to run toward him, he quickly realized it was a wild animal.
“Instinct is to protect, you know? So I heard him screaming, I saw him getting attacked by the coyote and I ran towards him right away,” Enoch’s mother, Melissa Palomar, said. “As soon as I got close to the coyote, it ran off and I was able to get him and take him to the emergency room.”
In addition to the stitches Enoch received, he was also given several rabies shots as a precaution. Overall, he’s recovering well, according to his mother.
Wildlife officials said they’re processing the boy’s clothes for DNA testing to try to locate the coyote that bit him.