This article was printed in the daily newspaper here in Owensboro, Kentucky. The article comes from the Messenger-Inquirer. The squirrels have seemed to have recently opened a second front here in the western half of the state.
Squirrel on a rampage attacks two. 5-25-97
by Tracy L. McQueen
Messenger-Inquirer
A squirrel on a rampage sent two local residents to the hospital Saturday after separate attacks. The first attack report came to the Owensboro Police Department about 3:30 p.m. Elizabeth Richardson was standing with a group of people near Baker Drive in Rolling Heights Apartments when the squirrel jumped on her, scratching and biting her. Owensboro Police Officer Paul Tucker said the squirrel then jumped on a man, jumped to the ground, leaped into a car with children inside and finally ran away. About an hour later, another attack was reported within blocks of Baker Drive but just outside the city limits on Westerfield Drive. Essie Sims was working on his air conditioner when the squirrel jumped out of a tree and onto him. "It jumped down and ran up his britches leg," said Sims' wife, Nola, who saw the attack. She said her husband knocked the squirrel off. "He thought then it would go away," Nola Sims said. "But it came back at him." A nephew, Bill Sims Jr., who was helping Essie Sims, ran into the house and grabbed a knife and killed the squirrel. Richardson, 24, of the 6800 block of Lamplight Circle, and Essie Sims, 77, of the 2200 block of Westerfield Drive were both treated for cuts at the emergency room at Owensboro Mercy Health System and released, according to a nursing supervisor. Daviess County Sheriff's Deputy Gwen Tucker , who responded to the attack on Sims, said no one knows what led to the rodent's rampage. "I can't imagine what would make a squirrel go crazy like that," Deputy Tucker said. "I've never heard of a squirrel attacking people." OPD Officer Tucker said witnesses seem convinced that the same squirrel was involved in both attacks. "That's just weird," he said. The squirrel's body was turned over to a county animal control officer. Deputy Tucker said it will be tested for rabies, although she said the animal control officer and the emergency room doctor told her rabies is rare among squirrels. OPD Officer Tucker urged residents in the area who feed the squirrels to be cautious. Nola Sims said she'll never look at the bushy-tailed animals the same way again. "We've always had squirrels around here," she said. "You don't think about them attacking."
Submitted by Todd Pruden