May 10, 2007 12:19 am US/Pacific
3 Hurt In Squirrel Attack At SJ's Evergreen School
SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ―
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A squirrel, like the one seen in this file photo, is accused of attacking people at a San Jose school.
AP
A child and two adults were hurt when a squirrel went nuts and attacked them after wandering into a San Jose elementary school classroom on Wednesday.
The door to a first grade classroom at Evergreen Elementary, located at 3010 Fowler Road, was left open when the squirrel scampered in about 9 a.m., according to school officials. The squirrel entered as students and chaperones were preparing to depart for a field trip.
An 11-year-old girl was bitten twice on the arm. Then, the squirrel went after a couple of adults in the room --
severely biting one of them on the upper arm and drawing blood, according to San Jose police Sgt. Nick Muyo.
All three victims were taken to a local hospital for observation after suffering scratches and bites; they were treated and released.
School officials said they had never experienced such an attack before and the squirrel apparently escaped right after the incident.
The attack seemed unprovoked, said Will Ector, spokesman for the Evergreen Elementary School District, who noted that the school does not have a high squirrel population in the immediate area.
"We took immediate precautions to ensure the security of our students (following the attack),'' Ector said.
All classrooms were ordered to close their doors and staff and students were alerted to the situation. Children were also being kept away from areas around the school that are frequented by squirrels.
Humane traps have been set by the school's animal control partner to catch the brazen critter, which remains on the run, he said.
Squirrels do not often attack people and when they do it usually has to do with food. At certain times of the year and under certain conditions squirrels can get aggressive, said Russ Parman, a Santa Clara County Vector Control District assistant manager.
As far as rabies goes, Parman said squirrels are not often associated with the disease and are a low-risk animal when it comes to transmission of the viral illness, which is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected animal.
"Generally speaking, squirrels are not the type of animal that can survive an attack by a rabid animal. They are prey animals,'' Parman said. But he added that rabies testing "never hurts."
Other recent squirrel attacks in Mountain View were likely the result of overzealous and hungry squirrels and their conditioned response to those who feed the animals, he explained.
Explaining how an adult might be injured, Parman said that when squirrels are scared they will try to climb -- and that sometimes they will climb people to escape.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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