Ashford mother fends off raccoon that attacked her daughter

ASHFORD, CT (WFSB) – An animal control officer reported a child was bitten by a raccoon in Ashford.

“He was wrapping his arms around my leg,” she explained. “It really hurt.”

State police said they responded to the incident on Fitts Road to assist the officer.

The video of the incident was captured by a surveillance camera:

It happened on Friday around 7:55.

“I was going out to get on the bus and a raccoon was there and tried to attack me,” said Rylee MacNamara, 5, of Ashford. “It wouldn’t come off my leg.”

Rylee MacNamara said she and her mother suffered some bite marks and scratches before her mother was able to get the animal off of her.

Panicking, Logan, Rylees’ mother, calls out for help.

“It’s a rabid raccoon, get help!” Logan said.

The raccoon ran into the woods after she threw it.

It is not yet known if the animal was rabid.

“I thought maybe he slammed his finger in the door. I definitely didn’t expect to see a raccoon wrapped around her leg,” Logan said.

The two went to the hospital, received rabies shots and returned home within hours.

“At first we panicked a bit. I was more scared than anything,” Logan said.

Neighbor Jessica Gessay isn’t surprised this happened.

“These woods over here… I’m afraid of them. There are things here. Animals, wildlife things like that,” Jessica said.

“It’s disturbing that it would be so close to our homes,” added Dave Frank, Ashford.

Animal control spent Friday morning in the woods trying to track down the animal. However, it was nowhere to be found.

The Macnamaras could take matters into their own hands by setting traps around the house.

Rylee and Logan will return to the hospital every other day for the next two weeks to receive more shots.

The Macnamaras also say their children won’t be allowed to go out on their own for the foreseeable future.

Copyright 2022 WFSB. All rights reserved.