Aggressive Squirrel Attacks Two Residents in Lucas Valley, San Rafael

Residents of San Rafael were warned to be cautious this week after an aggressive squirrel in the Lucas Valley neighborhood reportedly attacked at least two people and sent them to the emergency room, according to local reports and neighborhood flyers posted around the area. The incidents were described to a local television station in a story published Monday.

Joan Heblack told the TV station that she was walking in Lucas Valley when a squirrel "came out of nowhere" and clamped onto her leg, clawing and biting. "The tail was flying up here. I was like, Get it off me, get off me," she said. Isabel Campoy said she experienced a similarly violent encounter in the same neighborhood, describing how the animal launched from the ground to her face and ended up on her arm, leaving it bloody. Both women sought treatment at emergency departments, the station reported.

Flyers posted around Lucas Valley urge residents to take the warnings seriously and say "this is not a joke," adding that "more than five people have been attacked by a very mean squirrel that comes out of nowhere." The count on the flyers conflicts with official and organizational accounts; animal welfare representatives...