Coyote captured in New Jersey after second attack this month

By CHRISTOPHER BRITO AND ANTHONY DILORENZO

NORWOOD, N.J. (PIX11) - A coyote has been captured in New Jersey near where a man was bit on the leg while walking his dog, but authorities fear there could be more aggressive creatures near neighborhoods and schools.

This was the second coyote attack in Bergen County this month. A coyote that tested positive for rabies was euthanized after it attacked a man in Saddle River earlier this month.

Police said the latest animal has been taken to a state lab for testing.

Two coyotes dens were found near the Norwood Public School and traps have placed around the school in an effort to ease residents' fears about the wild animals. Officials have suggested that all outside activities be postponed until next week.

"If you live in the Fox Hill section of town," Norwood Mayor James Barsa warned residents, "you keep your children and pets inside right now until the situation is resolved."

The latest incident happened on Sunday when a wild coyote bit a man while he walked his dog on McClellan Street in the Fox Hill neighborhood.

"I could feel something on my back leg like a clamp," Stephen Sinisi said, recalling the painful ordeal. "He must have ran up and bit me in seconds. I didn't even see it."

Sinisi drove himself to a hospital and began treatment for possible exposure to rabies as a precaution.

That same day, Norwood Police Chief Jeffrey Krapels had a close call with a coyote.

"I saw a coyote and it was tracking me. Following me around," he told PIX11 News.

In another instance, an aggressive coyote attacked the tires of a police car on Villa Court Monday. Officers tried to capture the animal, but it ran away.

Krapels said in his time as chief, he's never heard of a case in the area of a coyote attacking a human.