SWAMPSCOTT — Police are warning the public about how to deal with the animals after a 17-year-old Swampscott High School student was bitten multiple times by a coyote in town Saturday night.
The teen was riding his bicycle alone around 6:20 p.m. in a wooded area between Burpee Road and the upper Jackson Field when he was attacked by the coyote — he was bitten in his face, arms and legs, Swampscott Police Sgt. Tim Cassidy said.
He was taken to North Shore Children’s Hospital in Salem with non-life-threatening injuries. He has since been released, Cassidy said.
Swampscott Police and Environmental Police searched the woods, but couldn’t locate the coyote.
Police are urging residents to use extreme caution in any wooded area in town and have issued some advice on how to deal with a possible coyote encounter.
“If a coyote approaches you, do not run or turn your back, be as big and loud as possible, wave your arms and throw objects, face the coyote and back away slowly,” Swampscott Police said in a statement. “If attacked, fight back.”
To protect pets, police advise that they be kept on a short leash and that residents take extra caution from dusk through dawn, along with avoiding known or potential den sites.
Police also urge residents to prepare themselves by walking with a walking stick, carrying a noise maker and walking with a buddy.
