Coyote Attacks 2 Children Near San Diego Mall, Leaving Girl, 3, with Bite Wounds on Her Hip and Arm By Gabrielle Rockson

Two children have reportedly been injured following a coyote attack in San Diego.

The incident took place on Tuesday, Nov. 25, near the UTC Mall in La Jolla at around 9: 00 p.m. local time, according to ABC 10News, Fox 5 and NBC San Diego.

Officials from the San Diego Police Department revealed that one of the children injured was a 3-year-old girl who sustained bite injuries on her hip and arm, per ABC 10News.

She was reportedly transported to Rady Children’s Hospital.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also confirmed to the outlet that another child was injured from the incident, however, their injuries or condition have not been revealed.

By the time emergency responders arrived at the scene, the coyote had disappeared, Fox 5 reported.

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PEOPLE has contacted the San Diego Police Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the San Diego Humane Society for comment.

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“It’s actually very uncommon for coyotes to want to approach people. They’re naturally neophobic animals, so they have this natural fear of humans,” said Angela Hernandez-Cusick, Wildlife Rehabilitation Supervisor at San Diego Humane Society’s Wildlife Center in Ramona, told ABC 10News.

She added, “They may be starting to leave their family groups and finding their own territories, essentially kind of figuring out what it is to live as a coyote.”

“It’s not completely unheard of that they could still venture into those areas,” Hernandez-Cusick said of the coyote being near the mall. “Certainly, where there are a lot of people, there’s going to be a lot of garbage. There’s going to be other resources that they may not be able to find more readily in the natural areas.”

Speaking of the coyote’s potential motivations for the attack, Hernandez-Cusick said, “We can speculate that it could have been some sort of prey motivation that maybe was enacted if the child moved a certain way, or maybe the child approached an area that the coyote wasn’t expecting.”