As many as six children have been subjected to fox attacks during a 12-hour time period in New Jersey.
Police are investigating at least six reports of kids being targeted by an animal in Lakewood in Ocean County.
The children were playing in their yards or at playgrounds when the attacks took place, according to WPVI.
The first report concerned an incident at 10am on Tuesday. A mother told police at around 5.40pm that afternoon that her five-year-old son was attacked while he was playing at the playground on John Street. The boy was taken to hospital and released after treatment.
A police officer arrived at a home on Rose Park Circle at around 7.15pm following another report of a fox jumping on a child who wasn’t harmed.
At about 7.30pm, another officer went to a home on Regal Court, responding to a report of three children being bitten by a fox as they played in the yard.
The family was told to seek medical care. The Ocean County Health Department is investigating the incidents.
At 9.40pm, police were sent out on yet another call, this time on Center Street, also for a fox bite. The officer was told that an eight-year-old child had been bitten by a fox while playing at the John Street playground previously that evening.
It remains unclear if the attacks were all perpetrated by the same fox or several animals.
According to WPVI, an Ocean County Health Department spokesperson said that while no animal had been captured, all foxes are considered to be possible carriers of rabies as they’re not social animals.
Physicians have to report fox bites to the health department within 12 hours of treatment.
At least one of the children has received a rabies shot.
