Father and son attacked by coyote, fear increases in Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. (FOX 11) - Trappers working under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are planning to move into areas of Irvine where coyotes have been seen and, in particular, where one attacked a father and son in their yard.

Lt. Kent Smirl with Fish and Wildlife says "Dad was gardening. He was down on his hands, on all fours, and the coyote went after the father first. The kid jumped on dad's back. The coyote hit him (Dad) in the lower back area." Smirl says that was really more of a scratch. The 3-year-old son, however, got a small puncture from a bite.

In the minutes just before the attack on the coyote had its eyes on a little Yorkie named Teddy.

It's Nelson Colimquim's dog. The Lambert Ranch resident says, "So, when I saw him I just (honked an air horn) trying to spook him." Colimquim says he honked 3 times, but the coyote just pranced back and forth like nothing ever happened."

After that, Colimquim says the coyote moved down the street where the attack on the father and son took place. The city is concerned. They say residents have to learn about hazing with sticks and noisemakers.

Farrah Emami with the Irvine Poice Department, "You could blow whistles. If you are in a car - honk a horn! Make a lot of noise. Make yourself bigger than the coyote." But, Colimquim says it didn't matter for him. "It seemed to me like he encountered humans before. It was like he was pressing us to see how far we would go cause when I did blast the horn he didn't even get startled at all."

Emami says, "This is a bold move for a coyote. It's something that's very alarming in our community we haven't seen before."

Now, the Irvine Police Department is going after coyote's with paintball hazing They've been doing it for about a month. But, Colimquim is skeptical about its effectiveness.

He says if they're not scared of this air-horn they're not going to be scared of paint balls.