Bobcat that attacked Brookfield man was rabid, tests confirm

BROOKFIELD, Mass. (AP) - The bobcat that attacked a Brookfield man in his own garage before going after his teenage nephew had rabies.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that state lab results on the dead animal were announced at Tuesday night's select board meeting.

Wildlife officials suspected that the bobcat that attacked Roger Mundell Jr. on Sunday was rabid because of its unusually aggressive behavior.

After pouncing on Mundell, sinking its teeth into his face and its claws in his back and holding him in what he described as a bear hug, the roughly 40-pound animal went outside and bit the 15-year-old boy.

Mundell shot and killed the bobcat.

He, his nephew and his wife --who was not bitten but got the animal's blood on her -- have already started rabies treatments.