What to Know
- A raccoon that ran rampage across a New Jersey town last week has been euthanized after officials confirmed the creature had rabies
- The raccoon attacked two neighbors in Maywood and was spotted by children and an adult before police tracked it down
- After the stun guns had no effect, the critter was cornered in a playground and captured
A raccoon that ran rampage across a New Jersey town last week has been euthanized after officials confirmed the creature had rabies.
Maywood police on Tuesday advised residents that may have come in contact with the rabid raccoon to contact the Bergen County Department of Health Services after people were attacked by the animal.
Roy DeMaio was relaxing in his front yard in the afternoon last week when he was suddenly attacked by an aggressive ball of fur that had chomped into his leg.
“I thought it was a dog, you know, then I looked and I see something over there,” said DeMaio, who also had the animal leave marks on his side and his hand bloody.
DeMaio’s wife called 911 immediately after — it would be one of several calls Maywood police would field regarding the troublesome critter.
About a half hour later, multiple children and an adult saw the raccoon nearby. Ten minutes after that, DeMaio’s neighbor was attacked while gardening.
Local
Police eventually started patrolling for the animal responsible for the vicious attacks, and saw it scratching at the side of a house down the road. According to Sergeant Matthew Parodi, two officers used their stun guns to subdue the animal — but neither had any effect on the raccoon.
Maywood police also said Tuesday that there were other several incidents related to the same raccoon.
