6-year-old boy attacked by coyote at crowded Southern California park

(KTLA) - A Southern California boy remains shaken up after he was attacked and dragged by a coyote at a crowded park in Carson.

On Monday, Enoch Palomar, 6, was with his family at Del Amo Park for his sister’s softball game that night.

During the game, cellphone video from a witness captured the moment Enoch’s screams could be heard from behind the softball field. He said the coyote initially chased after him and bit him as he tried to escape. It also apparently tried to drag him away.

"It just kept biting me, and I was trying to kick it," Enoch recalled. "It was too fast, and it just jumped. I was trying my hardest, and then it didn't work, and then I yelled."

His mother, Melissa Palomar, heard his screams and was seen sprinting over to help the boy. "I was like, ‘Get up, get up!’" Melissa recalled yelling at her son. "I was just hysterical."

After the coyote was scared off, the animal was seen fleeing across the softball field and eventually out of sight.

Enoch was left with serious injuries and required about 20 stitches in his legs. He was also bitten on his head and back. "It feels like pain, like I got bitten by a wolf,” he said.

Melissa reported the attack to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), where an investigation is underway. Officials have collected the child's clothing for DNA samples to track the coyote.

As Enoch recovers at home, Melissa said the incident has left her shaken and terrified. She said she was surprised that a coyote was in such a crowded park.

"I would never expect it," she said. "You're at a park with a whole bunch of people. You don't think a coyote would attack with a group of people around."

To stay safe, CDFW experts advise that whenever a coyote begins approaching, you should:

• Keep a safe distance and back away slowly
• Keep small children and pets close to you
• Make a loud noise — yell, clap, blow a whistle
• Make yourself look bigger (such as waving your arms)
• Let the coyote leave the immediate area on its own
• If a coyote makes contact, fight back and call Animal Control or 911

Although coyote sightings are common in Southern California, attacks on humans are rare, wildlife officials said.