Wildlife officers removed several coyotes from the Surprise neighborhood after the attack and submitted animals for rabies testing.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — An Arizona mother suffered multiple facial injuries while protecting her 4-year-old daughter from a coyote that attacked the child during a Sunday afternoon of kite flying in their Surprise neighborhood, according to the family and local news reports.
Brittany Cardinal said she and her daughter had gone outside Sept. 6 because it was windy and the child wanted to fly a kite. Cardinal said she heard her daughter scream and turned to see a coyote nipping at her. She picked up the girl and began yelling at the animal, expecting it to retreat. Instead, the coyote continued approaching, turning a routine afternoon outside into a struggle that left both mother and daughter injured.
Cardinal told Arizona’s Family that she tried to drive the animal away after yelling failed. She removed a flip-flop and tried to scare the coyote with it. During the confrontation, Cardinal fell, and the animal lunged at her and bit her face. She said the intensity of the encounter left her focused on getting her daughter to safety rather than immediately registering the pain from her injuries.
Sydney Brewer, Cardinal’s sister-in-law, gave ABC15 a separate account of the struggle. Brewer said Cardinal fought with the coyote while trying to keep it away from the 4-year-old. She said Cardinal suffered several bites and scratches, including lacerations and puncture wounds to her face and ear. Brewer said the child suffered one bite wound. Mother and daughter eventually managed to get away and reach their home, and the coyote did not follow them inside.
Cardinal said protecting her daughter was an immediate reaction. “There was no hesitation at all,” she told Arizona’s Family. She said she did not stop to weigh what she should do as the encounter unfolded. Family members said Cardinal and her daughter were recovering after the attack. Public reports did not identify the child by name.
Arizona Game and Fish Department personnel responded after the encounter. Alex Flickinger, a public affairs community liaison for the department, told Arizona’s Family that several coyotes had been removed from the area and were being tested for rabies. Officials had not determined which animal was responsible for the attack. Flickinger also said investigators did not yet know why the coyote behaved so aggressively.
The department said the Surprise incident was the first recorded coyote attack on a person in the Phoenix area since December 2023. In that earlier series of encounters, Arizona Game and Fish said three people were bitten in north Phoenix over several days near Interstate 17 and Happy Valley Road. The victims included a 4-year-old child and two adult men. Wildlife officers removed a coyote while continuing to investigate the incidents.
At the time of the December 2023 attacks, the department said it had recorded 28 coyote attacks on people in the Phoenix metropolitan area during the previous 26 years. State wildlife officials describe attacks on people as uncommon but potentially serious. Coyotes are widespread in Arizona and live in desert, suburban and urban environments, where they can take advantage of food sources associated with people.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department has said most coyotes remain wary of people, although animals that become accustomed to human activity or food can lose some of that caution. The agency has previously linked some wildlife conflicts to food, water and shelter available around developed areas. In a 2023 case involving separate coyote attacks on toddlers in north Scottsdale, officers removed four coyotes for rabies testing, and all four tests were negative.
The Surprise neighborhood involved in the latest attack sits near open desert, and residents told ABC15 that coyotes are regularly seen in the area. The presence of coyotes alone is not unusual in communities bordering desert habitat, but the animal’s persistence during Sunday’s encounter prompted the wildlife response and testing. Officials have not publicly attributed the attack to rabies, habituation or another specific cause.
As of Thursday, authorities had not publicly identified the coyote responsible for the attack or announced rabies test results for the animals removed from the area. Cardinal and her daughter were recovering while wildlife officials continued working to determine what caused the aggressive encounter.
Author note: Last updated September 10, 2026.