Brittany Cardinal suffered facial wounds while protecting her child during a Sunday afternoon encounter in a Surprise neighborhood.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — An Arizona mother is recovering after fighting off a coyote that attacked her 4-year-old daughter during an afternoon of kite flying, leaving the child with a bite wound and the mother with multiple injuries to her face.
Brittany Cardinal said the attack began Sunday afternoon in her Surprise neighborhood after she heard her daughter scream and turned to see a coyote nipping at the child. Cardinal picked up her daughter and shouted at the animal, expecting it to retreat. Instead, she said, the coyote continued approaching, setting off a struggle that ended with Cardinal and her daughter escaping to their home.
Cardinal told Arizona’s Family that she tried to scare the coyote away after it refused to back down. She took off a flip-flop and attempted to strike or frighten the animal with it. During the confrontation, Cardinal fell, and the coyote lunged at her and bit her face. She said she felt pressure from the bite but did not immediately register the pain as the attack unfolded.
In a separate account, Cardinal’s sister-in-law, Sydney Brewer, told ABC15 that Cardinal wrestled with the coyote while trying to keep it away from the 4-year-old. Brewer said Cardinal was bitten and scratched several times and suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to her face and ear. Brewer said the girl suffered a single bite wound. The mother and daughter eventually reached their home, and the coyote did not follow them.
Arizona Game and Fish Department officials responded to the neighborhood after the attack. Alex Flickinger, a public affairs community liaison for the department, told Arizona’s Family that officials had removed several coyotes from the area and were testing them for rabies. Officials had not publicly confirmed which animal was responsible for the attack or announced rabies test results as of Wednesday.
Flickinger said investigators had not determined why the coyote behaved aggressively. The department said the case was the first recorded coyote attack on a person in the Phoenix Valley since December 2023, when wildlife officers investigated several bites in north Phoenix. In that earlier episode, the agency reported three people were bitten over several days, including a 4-year-old child and two adults.
Coyotes are common across Arizona and regularly live near suburban and urban areas, according to the Game and Fish Department. The agency says most coyotes are wary of people and human interactions are generally rare, although conflicts can increase when animals become accustomed to people or find food around developed areas. The Surprise neighborhood where the latest attack occurred borders open desert, and residents told ABC15 they regularly see coyotes nearby.
Cardinal said her response was immediate once she realized her daughter was in danger. “There was no hesitation at all,” she told Arizona’s Family, adding that her focus was on protecting her child. Wildlife officials said fighting back and making noise when an animal attacks is consistent with the department’s guidance for aggressive coyote encounters.
The department’s response continued after the attack as officers worked to determine whether one of the coyotes removed from the area was responsible. Rabies testing is significant because the disease can alter an animal’s behavior, but officials have not said that rabies caused the Surprise attack. Flickinger said the reason for the animal’s behavior remained unclear.
The incident follows previous coyote attacks documented by state wildlife officials in the Phoenix metropolitan area. In December 2023, the Game and Fish Department said 28 coyote attacks on people had been recorded in the metropolitan area over the previous 26 years. The agency describes attacks as uncommon but potentially serious and has continued to monitor conflicts as development expands into areas where coyotes are established.
Cardinal and her daughter were recovering after the attack, according to their family. Wildlife officials were still awaiting information from the coyotes removed for testing, and authorities had not publicly identified the animal that attacked them or announced a specific cause for its aggressive behavior.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.