5-year-old suffers ‘serious’ injuries after mountain lion attack

A 5-year-old boy is recovering after being attacked by a mountain lion during a family picnic in a California park. Wildlife rangers euthanized the animal shortly after the incident.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) posted a press release detailing the incident on its official Facebook page on Tuesday, September 3.

The agency said in a news release that on Sunday, September 1, at 4:21 p.m., California State Park rangers and the Los Angeles County Sheriff were alerted to a mountain lion attack at Malibu Creek State Park.

The Woodland Hills family of six adults and several children were at the park when the attack occurred.

“Children were playing near a picnic table at home when a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy, causing serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” CDFW added.

Multiple adults intervened and “charged at the lion” until the lion “released the boy,” the release said. Bystanders witnessed the attack and watched the mountain lion climb a tree until state park rangers arrived on the scene.

CDFW wildlife officers, National Park Service personnel and Los Angeles Fire Rescue also responded.

Wildlife officials deemed the mountain lion “a threat to public safety,” and a ranger euthanized the animal with a firearm. The child was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated. He was discharged from hospital early Monday, September 2.

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CDFW Capt. Patrick Foy said the mountain lion grabbed the victim’s head, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The child’s anonymous aunt detailed the moment the child was attacked, telling KTLA: “Someone screamed the child’s name and his father started running away. The father grabbed the mountain lion with his hands and he started fighting. Then the mountain lion Let go.

Wildlife officers also contacted the boy’s family while he was hospitalized, collecting evidence such as the bites and scratches he sustained and the clothing he was wearing during the attack, CDFW noted.

“CDFW’s Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Sacramento confirmed a DNA match for these evidence samples,” CDFW said, adding that “CDFW and state park officials are thankful the family is safe, the child is recovering, and no one else was injured.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that California State Parks is investigating the incident.

According to CDFW’s website, mountain lions attack humans when “direct physical contact between humans and mountain lions results in physical injury or death.”

The agency said there were more than 20 mountain lion attacks on humans in California from March 1986 to March this year.