Fox That Bit Multiple People In East Windsor, Conn. Tests Positive For Rabies

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- A fox that bit at least five people in East Windsor, Connecticut earlier this week has tested positive for rabies.

CBS 2 sister station WFSB-TV in Hartford confirmed that the animal was confirmed to be rabid. The fox attacked on an elementary school playground Monday in East Windsor.

The fox came out of the woods near Broad Brook Elementary School on Rye Street and then appeared on the playground during recess, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported. The fox bit one of the children and then bit two school staff members who came to the child's aid, police said.

The child, second grader Evan Witzke, was bitten on the ankle and wrist.

"We were having gym outside, and we were playing this game, and I was running around, and this fox just came out after me," Evan said.

Gym teacher Elissa Danielle told WFSB she was bitten on the hand.

"Oh yeah, that hurt a lot. That's my student," Danielle told the station. "I would do anything for my students. I had to do it."

A teacher and another school employee held the fox down by covering it with a receptacle, Windsor police Detective Matthew Carl said.

When police and an animal control worker arrived, they attempted to catch the animal, but it was shot and killed when it tried to attack an officer, Carl said.

Two others have since reported being bitten by the same fox. Local police told WFSB that Jerry Banks, 74, called them and said he had been bitten while getting his newspaper around 8:30 a.m. Monday on Church Street in East Windsor.

The same fox was also believed to have bitten another woman in nearby Windsor Locks at 10:30 a.m., about an hour before attacking the students and staffers at the school, police said.

School counseling was made available for any student that witnessed the incident, WFSB reported. Any families in need of assistance were advised to contact the Broad Brook Elementary School at (860) 623-2433.

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