When a squirrel attacks a senior center: ‘It’s biting them and scratching them’

A little squirrel caused a large commotion at a senior-living community in Volusia County on Thursday.

The animal attacked someone outside Sterling Court on Alabaster Way in Deltona about 2:30 p.m., according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The person attacked couldn’t break free of the squirrel and went inside with the animal. That’s when it went wild and started attacking others inside an activity room.

“It’s jumping on people and biting them and scratching them, so we need help,” a worker told a 911 dispatcher.

Another person is heard in the background saying, “I feel lightheaded! I don’t feel good!”

The woman told a dispatcher the squirrel had attacked at least three or four people and they were bleeding. She said someone was able to throw the animal outside.

Brian Fawkes, a spokesman for Holiday Retirement, the company that manages Sterling Court, told The Washington Post that a resident captured the squirrel and threw it out the door. Fawkes said he did not know the fate of the animal.

Three people - two Sterling Court residents and a staff member - were injured in the attack, he said. All three were taken to a hospital and given rabies shots; the three were released later in the day and are “fine,” Fawkes said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that bites from wild animals that cannot be tested should be treated as exposure to rabies. However, the CDC says, squirrels are generally believed to pose little risk.

The Washington Post contributed.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 1:17 PM with the headline "When a squirrel attacks a senior center: ‘It’s biting them and scratching them’."