Coyote shot dead after Dallas toddler attacked, officials say

A coyote was shot dead Wednesday and will be tested for rabies after a Dallas toddler was attacked in Lake Highlands the day before, officials confirmed.

Marlo Clingman, a Dallas Animal Services spokeswoman, confirmed the shooting late Wednesday, saying that it was killed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She said the department will hold a news conference this morning.

A police officer found the coyote after the attack, which occurred Tuesday morning in the 9200 block of Royalpine Drive, near White Rock Trail, and shot at it near a park in the area. But it’s unclear whether it was hit before it disappeared into the woods where officials searched Wednesday.

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Newton Thomas, the boy’s father, told on Wednesday in a text that his son underwent several hours of surgery and is now in stable condition.

Game wardens from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dallas Animal Services and Dallas police searched for the coyote Wednesday. Dallas police deployed their new aerial drone to help, said Michael Dennis, a department spokesman.