New Hampshire dad suffocates coyote with bare hands after it attacked toddler
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A hero New Hampshire father suffocated a coyote to death with his bare hands after the beast attacked his child on Monday, police said.
Ian O’Reilly was walking with his wife and three kids on a trail near Judes Pond in Kensington around 11 a.m. when the wild animal jumped out of the woods and grabbed the 2-year-old child by the jacket, cops said.
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Authorities in New Hampshire posted this photo to warn about the coyote attack. (Kensington Police Department)
That’s when “the dad went into protection mode,” kicking the coyote before choking it, said Kensington Police Chief Scott Cain.
O’Reilly told local outlet WFXT that he was running on instinct and adrenaline when he wrestled the beast to the ground, eventually killing it after a 10-minute skirmish.
“There was no interest in it going away so ultimately I had to make the decision to become the aggressor and jumped on it, attacked it and was able to get it to the ground,” O’Reilly said.
“When I was able to get on top of it I put my hand around its snout so it wasn’t able to attack me anymore,” he recalled.
“From there… I shoved [its] head into the snow… and then eventually was able to expire it through suffocation,” he said. “Ultimately one hand on its windpipe and one hand on its snout did the trick.”
The dad was bitten in the arm and chest and is being treated for rabies as a precaution. The animal didn’t break the toddler’s skin thanks to his heavy-duty snowsuit.
