Though responding to numerous calls of coyote sightings in Middletown, police and other officials haven’t caught or killed any more of the predators since one was fatally shot on May 23.

Yesterday, at about 2:30p, a policeman fired two shots from his sidearm at one of the animals, but it got away, according to reports in the Asbury Park Press and the Star-Ledger.

The incident occurred in North Middletown, near a dike along Pews Creek between Bray Avenue and Port Monmouth Road, about three miles from where most of the recent coyote sightings have been reported, according to the Ledger.

From the Press:

After visiting the site of the shooting, [Police Chief Robert] Oches said no one was in danger of being accidentally shot by the officer, who had been standing at a slightly higher elevation than the animal — and about 80 feet away — when he pulled the trigger.

“The officer had a clear shot, and it was in a downward direction,” Oches said. “It wasn’t going to go anywhere except down if it didn’t get the coyote.”

The shooting happened near Route 36 and its intersection with a dike, he said.

Since April, two boys, a 22-month-old and a five-year-old, have been attacked by coyotes.

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