Update: According to officials, the fox did test positive for rabies. Additional information will be released Friday morning.
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A fox, believed to have rabies, attacked people up and down one street in a Virginia Beach neighborhood.
According to the Health Department, the fox bit or scratched five people all together, mostly kids and a dog.
It happened around six Monday night on Border Way, which is in the Highland Parrish neighborhood.
Two of the victims were Michael Hutchens' children. One of his sons was bitten while he was standing outside.
“The fox was able to bite through his pants and get through to his skin,” said Hutchens, “My oldest opened the door to see what the commotion was and then at that point, the fox ran into the house.”
After biting another kid, the family dog was able to run the fox outside.
From there, the attacks continued down the street.
Nine-year-old Gabrielle was another one of its victims.
She had been chatting with some friends outside when it lunged at her from behind.
“It started going after my legs and it would bite, but then let go, and then bite on the other leg, and it would go back and forth biting on my legs,” said Gabrielle.
The fox continued its frenzied attacks until someone took action to stop it by running it over with a car.
Animal control picked up the fox and the Health Department says that although they are almost certain the fox had rabies, it is being tested. The results will be in by Wednesday.
The Health Department also said that everyone who was attacked has started getting treatment. Gabrielle had her first round of shots Monday night.
“The shots hurt really bad,” Gabrielle said.
Neighbors say the whole ordeal has made them a little more leery of wildlife, especially Gabrielle.
“Now it’s my biggest fear because it bit me.”
The Health Department advises people to keep their pets' rabies vaccines current. If you see an animal behaving strangely, call animal control. The Health Department did say, though, that just because an animal is seen out during the day, does not mean it's sick. Wildlife are more commonly seen during the day now because of changes to their habitats.
