Year-old victim of raccoon attack is home from hospital

The mother of 6-year-old Aryan Gavali told NBC that the raccoon was rabid when it jumped on her son’s back and attacked him as he walked to school Wednesday in Elmwood Park.

Police Handout Witnesses say the raccoon jumped onto the boy’s back and began biting and scratching at this face.

Danny Walls was nearby and heard the mother screaming as the raccoon lay on top of the boy.

CBS News New York Danny Walls, the boy’s neighbor, sprung to action when he saw the raccoon attack, and beat the rodent to death with an extension pole he had in his vehicle.

“He’s eating well and he’s sleeping well, but it’s going to take a little bit of time to heal his stitches on his face”, his father told The Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/1PJeGAd). I killed the raccoon.

“It’s cold outside and he was covered with a jacket”. “Only his face was open”. “I killed the raccoon”.

Seeing the massive racoon clawing at Aryan’s face, the quick-thinking Good Samaritan grabbed a painter’s pole from his auto and started beating the raccoon until it let go of the child and died.

A spokesman for Bergen County has confirmed the animal tested positive to having rabies, ABC News reports.

“I’m really, really thankful”, she said.

“He came like an angel to help us”, the boy’s mother, Monali, said. The family of the boy, Aryan Gavali, released the test results to Eyewitness News Friday morning.

While raccoons are known to sometimes be aggressive, rabid examples can be identified by confused, disoriented or slow behaviour, crazed noises or foaming at the mouth.