5 minutes

Dennis Katsnelson

Families living in north Scottsdale are filled with anxiety and concern over the recent incidents of coyote attacks on toddlers. In just one week, coyotes attacked two toddlers, causing fear and anxiety among parents in the area.

As a result of the attacks, parents expressed reluctance to go outside with their toddlers. One parent stated, "We're not going outside anytime soon."

The latest attack was caught on surveillance video in Ring on Wednesday around 5:30 p.m. The video shows Kelly Pirozzi walking in the driveway and her young son Brody following a few steps behind. The video shows a coyote sneaking up on the child and attacking him. Pirozzi described the incident, "The coyote came up behind us, ran up to him and bit him on his right arm. As soon as he bit his right arm, he started screaming and knocked him down." Pirozzi shared a photo of the bite marks on her son's arm with the Arizona Family.

The incident is similar to an attack that occurred last weekend at Aztec Park, a few miles away. In both cases, young children were attacked, but fortunately, they are expected to make a full recovery.

According to Darren Julian of Arizona Game and Fish, coyotes are extremely rare to show such aggression toward humans, so the recent attacks are alarming. Julian suspects that the same coyote may be responsible for both assaults. The biggest concern now, however, is the possibility that other children may be targeted after seeing a coyote so bold as to follow a child down the driveway.

We took this video from AZFamily | Arizona News YouTube Channel.

While authorities continue to investigate, parents are advised to exercise caution and keep a close eye on their children while playing outside.