Alert issued after first coyote attack of 2019 in Frisco

Frisco officials alerted residents on Tuesday after a new attack by a coyote on a jogger.

There were six coyote attacks in late 2018, but Tuesday morning’s incident is the first of 2019.

Officials said a man on a jog in the area of Eldorado Parkway and Tangerine Lane was attacked about 6:40 a.m. Tuesday. The coyote bit the man, but he was able to shake the animal off and escape.

The man was taken by a family member to an area hospital and was treated for what were described as minor injuries.

Five out of the seven attacks since October have been on runners in the area surrounding El Dorado Parkway and Preston Road.

The sheer number of sightings and attacks is disturbing.

The first one happened last November and was caught on a Frisco police officer’s dash cam video. The officer happened to be there as a coyote stalked a jogger and drove after it with his siren on to chase the animal off.

On December 17, two women were attacked after during an early morning jog. One was bitten several times on her legs.

Not far away on December 29, a man was out walking his dog when a coyote grabbed it by the neck. Later, the man’s Ring video captured the coyote trying to sniff the dog out before jumping a fence and running away.

The latest attack happened early Tuesday morning just before 7 a.m. A man was jogging at El Dorado and Tangerine when out of the bushes came a coyote and bit him.

The early morning attack happened next to Joselynne Kendall’s backyard. It's the seventh in the string of attacks or stalking.

“We have a small dog, small kids. And they try to approach animals so it disturbs me,” Kendall said. “Makes me afraid to let my kids out to play by themselves.”

Frisco Police Officer Radd Rotello says a family member drove the victim to a hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. He’s urging residents to help by reporting coyote sightings on the city’s website.

“You can report any and all sightings of coyotes there and it just kind for helps us focus our efforts,” he said. “It really tells us a lot about what’s going on in that area. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an aggressive coyote in that area, but it does tell us where they are in general.”

Officials captured and put down several coyotes in December after a spate of attacks on people in Frisco. However, none of them have tested positive for rabies.