14 DAY TRIAL // Two elementary school students in Newton County, Georgia were bitten by a wild fox while playing at school, reports say.
The boys were attacked at Rocky Plains Elementary School on Georgia Highway 162. The animal got on the playground, also putting about 50 children attending a local kindergarten in danger.
According to Newton County School System Director Sherri Davis-Viniard, a teacher had to step in and remove the wild fox.
"A teacher was able to kick the fox and get the animal off the students. The children were immediately taken off the playground," Viniard tells the Rockdale Citizen.
Animal control teams arrived to the scene and the kids were administered rabies medication, since supervisors at the school observed that the animal was acting in an odd manner.
"This time of year, wild animals are raising their young and you will see them on the periphery of the woods at any time of the day.
"If you see them coming away from their normal habitat and not startling if you open a door or make a noise, something is not right," Hooson warns residents in the school area.
Even as the rabies diagnosis has not been confirmed yet, the students will receive a treatment consisting of a series of shots. Since the fox hasn't been caught, students are not allowed on the playground.
"All outside activities at Rocky Plains have been canceled. [...] Counselors at the school spoke to the little children, as they were obviously frightened by the incident.
"Newton County School Resource Officer will be on scene to help with dismissal in the event the fox returns," Viniard adds.
Newton County Animal Control Director Teri Key-Hooson mentions that they are working towards catching the wild fox at the moment, setting up traps on location.