Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : AT THE SCENE : Residents Wary After Coyotes Attack 2 Yorba Linda Boys

Two young boys were attacked this week by coyotes as they were exploring a dry lake area near their Yorba Linda homes.

Five-year-old Erek Sahleen and his neighbor, Jeffrey Marshall, 8, were attacked at dusk Tuesday, and county animal control workers are staking out the area to try to capture the coyote that bit Erek, who is undergoing rabies shots.

County Animal Control officials claim the attack was an isolated incident, but neighborhood residents, who have seen coyotes while jogging, horseback-riding or playing in the area, disagree. The neighbors also disagree about how dangerous the animals are.

Erek and Jeffrey both characterized their encounter with the two coyotes as “scary.”

While the two boys walked in the undeveloped, bushy area, they suddenly noticed two coyotes, Erek said. At first the boys stood still, but when the coyotes saw them, the boys started running up the hill, and that was when Erek fell and was overtaken by the coyote.