middleborough

Police: Hostile Fox That Attacked 2 People Has Been Killed

Two women were bitten by the fox in separate attacks less than a half a mile away from each other

Police in Middleborough, Massachusetts announced that a fox believed to have bitten two women in separate attacks was located and killed early Tuesday.

The animal was found just after midnight in a ditch on Plymouth Street, north of the Kampground of America entrance. Officials said the animal looked "sickly and ornery" and opened fire on the fox after they determined it was a threat to public safety.

Middleborough police stated that the actions taken after locating the animal are standard procedure.

"Given that the animal had attacked two people, it was considered to be a threat to the public and had to be killed in order for it to be tested for rabies and other diseases," Middleborough Police Department Chief Joseph Perkins said.

An animal control officer will take the fox to a state lab so it could be tested for rabies.

Officials received the first call regarding the fox on Sunday evening, after it bit a woman 11 times outside of her driveway.

"It was so terrible," Crestena Astorga, the victim said. "Terrible. My God."

Astorga's daughter had to hit the aggressive animal with a snow shovel in order to stop the attack.

A second woman was targeted by the fox on Monday morning at the Kampground of America grounds. Both women were hospitalized after the ordeal. The attacks happened just half a mile away from each other.

Middleborough police and Animal Control officials urge anyone who has been injured by a fox to seek medical attention.

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