MCDP released body-worn camera footage after shooting, killing coyote that attacked 2 women

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCDP) released the body-worn camera footage of officers shooting and killing a rabid coyote that attacked two women.

Officials say the two attacks took place only a few hours apart from one another in the Ashton and Burtonsville area. The coyote was shot and killed by police on the same day as those attacks, and it was later discovered that the animal tested positive for rabies.

MCDP Sergeant Scott Davis, who oversees District 3, says around 4 p.m. on March 28, he received word that there had been a coyote attack in a neighboring district. Then 45 minutes later, officers in Davis’ district received a call from a woman walking on a trail in Burtonsville who reported another attack.

“She was back there with her dog and the coyote came out and attacked her dog initially,” Scott said. “Then [the coyote] attacked her.”

Davis says the woman suffered substantial injuries.

“Her legs were bitten up pretty good,” he said. “Scratched up, and her right arm looked like the coyote had yanked on to it and basically, just started going back and forth. So, there was a lot of nerve damage.”

Davis says he immediately sent several of his officers to the trails to find the coyote, and while searching, they discovered the coyote may have carried out other attacks as well.

“They came across a chicken coop that looked like it had been attacked by a coyote,” Davis said. “There was a substantial amount of chickens and roosters that were deceased on scene, and there was some damage to the fence.”

He says his team, along with help from other agencies, searched the trails for nearly three hours and eventually located the coyote.

“They heard some dogs barking on the other side of the reservoir,” Davis said. “They went back down to draw and investigate, and the coyote actually came out of the wood line and was not running but was kind of prancing toward them. So, one of the officers had a clear shot, he yelled ‘shot out’ and then he took the shot.”

The woman who was bit by the coyote was receiving treatment for her injuries.

Scott says coyotes have a growing presence in the county and not to approach if residents encounter one.

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