Police Shoot Fox That Approached Kids at King Street School

Port Chester police shot and killed a fox that came within feet of children at King Street School on Friday.

Officers responded to the school at 697 King St. at 11 a.m. after calls started coming in from parents, teachers and concerned neighbors. They told police the scruffy-looking animal had made its way onto the school grounds as students were participating in an outdoor program Friday.

Only a fence separated the fox and the children as the animal approached and began trying to poke its face through small holes in the fence, Officer Drew Conetta said.

School staffers ushered the students inside as police arrived. Officers cornered the fox on the large lawn of a home at the corner of King Street and Woodland Drive, Conetta said.

When officers determined it was safe to take a shot, they dispatched the animal.

Conetta described the fox as "mangy" and said it appeared to be eating a dead squirrel before police cornered it. Authorities haven't conducted any tests to determine if the animal was diseased. Rye Brook police also responded, and a passing DPW crew from Rye Brook was flagged down to remove the animal.