Edited by: TJVNews.com
Now that summer is coming to an end, a possibly dangerous animal has been attacking children out in central New Jersey.
According to reports and local officials, five kids in Lakewood have been bit by fox that could be rabid just this week alone and a sixth child may have also been attacked.
A report in the New York Post indicated that the Ocean County Health Department said that the reports on the attack on kids by the fox emerged on Tuesday at a playground in John Street Park in the central New Jersey town and in several backyards.
Local police reports indicated that a 5-year-old boy on the playground was bitten around 10 a.m. according to a report on 6ABC television news channel. The Post also reported that another child was pounced on at their home but escaped unhurt, while a different family told cops three kids were bitten in their yard.
The Post reported that according to the local Patch publication, just prior to 7 pm, an 8-year-old boy was also bitten on the playground.
A spokesman for the Ocean County Health Department said that animal control is searching for the fox.
At least one kid got rabies shots and one was treated at a local hospital and released. Authorities have not released information on the injuries, and Lakewood Police did not respond to multiple requests for comment, as was reported by the Post.
Speaking to the Post, a pastor in the central New Jersey area indicated that people are alarmed over the attacks by the fox on children. As such, he told the publication that people are trying to stay indoors at night as to avoid becoming the fox’s next victim.
Rev. John Jones told the Post, “That’s very alarming because you have so many children out there and that’s terrible when the kids get attacked or get hurt. Anything can happen.”
Around the corner from John Street Park, members of the Greater Bethel Church of God expressed their concern and angst because the fox attacked in an area where the church has its barbecues and it is also gathering venue for both children and families, according to the Post report.
Ocean County’s public health coordinator, Daniel Regenye, told the Post that the fox and others foxes may still be on the loose.“There is the possibility they would still be roaming,” he said.
The day before the fox attack was reported in the predominantly Orthodox Jewish enclave of Lakewood, the Post reported that at Double Trouble State Park, located about 20 minutes south of Lakewood, another fox reportedly attacked two people and a dog. The attack at the 8000 acre park was of such concern that officials made the decision to close the park for at least three days, the Post reported.
The paper also reported that a dead fox was discovered this week in the same park. It was later tested for rabies and the result of the test was positive. Officials in the area said that they do not think that the dead fox was the same one who was responsible for the attack on Monday, the Post reported.
The Post reported that Regenye said that there have been seven documented cases of rabies in animals so far this year in Ocean County: the dead fox, three bats, two cats and a raccoon. There were 17 cases for all of 2021.
