DNA Testing Pending After Child Injured in Coyote Encounter

A 16-month-old child was injured in a coyote encounter in Atwater Village, and a coyote captured nearby was euthanized Friday as officials await DNA results to determine whether it was responsible. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the encounter occurred near Glenhurst Avenue. The child was treated at a hospital and released. Officials have not described how the injury happened or provided further details about its severity. The agency said a coyote was captured and euthanized in the area Friday. DNA testing is pending to establish whether that animal injured the child. A report said samples were collected from both the child and the coyote for comparison, but officials have not announced a result. Residents have described earlier concerns about a coyote they called Wylie, which they said had been seen in the neighborhood for months. Some residents also suspected someone was feeding the animal. Those accounts do not establish that Wylie was the coyote involved in Friday’s encounter, or that the euthanized animal was the same one. Rebecca Dmytryk of Humane Wildlife Control Inc. said officials should have investigated residents’ earlier concerns and enforced...