Foxes are Attacking People on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., learned firsthand Monday evening while walking to the Capitol for votes. Now he's undergoing a series of four rabies shots out of an abundance of caution.
Bera said he felt something lunge at him from behind as he walked near one of the Senate office buildings. He turned and used his umbrella to fend off what he thought would be a small dog, but he soon realized he was tangling with a fox. Bera said the encounter lasted about 15 seconds. A bystander yelled to alert others and the fox fled as U.S. Capitol Police officers ran up on the scene.
A medical doctor himself, Bera looked for puncture wounds. He didn't see evidence of any, but there was some abrasion, so he consulted the Capitol physician, who told him not to take any chances and to get treated. He said he went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after votes for the first of a series of four shots.
"I would say it's the most unusual day on the Hill in 10 years," Bera said of his experience.
The House Sergeant at Arms was serious when telling lawmakers and their staffs Tuesday afternoon that there had been multiple recent fox encounters and that the animals should not be approached. The warning noted that there are possibly several fox dens on the Capitol grounds and that animal control personnel would be seeking to trap and locate any that they find.
Bera harbored no ill will toward the culprit.
"Hopefully, the animal can be relocated," he said.
A reporter for the online media outlet Politico also reported being bit, and animal control is now attempting to relocate the canines. In at least one case, they were successful.
Public Information Officer for the U.S. Capitol Police, Tim Barber said, "There have been roughly a half dozen nips or bites. And so just out of an abundance of caution, we really wanted people to stay away if they encountered the fox. Stay away. Call animal control. And that's what happened not too long ago. Somebody encountered the fox. They were actually bit by the fox and they called animal control. Animal control came and successfully captured the fox. A lot of folks have been asking, Is this the one and only fox? We hope it's the one and only fox. But there are other traps in the area, so if there are other foxes, hopefully they will handle that."
