Coyote attacks toddler on front lawn in Woodland Hills

A coyote attacked a toddler outside her family’s Woodland Hills home in broad daylight on Friday, trying to pull her away before her father rescued her, according to security video and the young girl’s family.

The coyote can be seen attacking the child while her father is busy locking the family’s SUV, the family’s doorbell video showed. The animal pushed the child to the ground and grabbed her left leg, trying to pull her away as she screamed.

The girl’s father took the child in his arms and immediately chased the coyote away, throwing a water bottle at the animal.

“I heard her screaming and crying and I thought she fell and I saw the coyote was there,” Ariel Eliyahuo, the toddler’s father, told NBC4. The father and child had just returned home from a field trip.

The incident happened around 3:45 p.m. and was captured on security video shown on NBC and several other local television stations.

The young girl suffered scratches on her leg and was taken to a hospital to be vaccinated against rabies, the family said.