Campus police shot at a coyote who bit a 5-year-old boy at California State University, Los Angeles on Wednesday, schools officials said.
The animal—who remained at large Wednesday evening—bit the child in the leg at around 6:40 p.m., authorities said at a news conference.
The Los Angeles Police Department had earlier identified the victim as a student.
The child’s family took him to a health facility, university spokesman Robert Lopez said. His condition was unclear.
Lopez said after the boy was bitten, the coyote aggressively approached a woman, who flagged down campus police.
An officer spotted the animal later in the evening and fired at it at around 8 p.m., LAPD said.
Authorities believe the coyote was struck but managed to flee. The animal was last seen on a hill near the student union.
Students said they heard several gunshots and thought there had been a shooting.
“Thank God that’s not what happened tonight,” a student named Michael said.
The university reported heavy police presence on campus.
“Students and neighbors in University Hills report hearing gunshots followed by howling,” the school newspaper’s Twitter account said.
Authorities did not provide further details.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described a tweet from the school newspaper as being from the university. The post has been updated.