A squirrel wreaked havoc at a Deltona, Florida, senior living facility Thursday, according to 911 calls.
A 911 caller said the animal attacked people inside the Sterling Court apartments on Alabaster Way.
“We had a squirrel that entered our building, and it’s in our activity room, and it’s jumping on people and biting them and scratching them,” the caller said. “We need help. It’s still in there and people are bleeding.”
Phyllis Thrush said the squirrel jumped on a resident and into the senior living facility.
She now has 11 stitches from bites and claw marks from the attack, Thrush said.
At least three people were attacked.
"A lady had a bad place on her forehead where he had jumped on her. Another lady had scratches on her hand, so we all got it at once," Thrush said.
In the background of the call, people can be heard frantically yelling, “The squirrel is still in here.”
"They were all screaming their heads off trying to get the squirrel out. It was a mess," Thrush said.
The caller later tells the dispatcher that someone threw the animal out the door.
“They told me they threw it out of the building,” the caller said.
The caller said she ran inside her office to call 911.
“We need help for the people,” she said.
She then told the dispatcher an ambulance was needed for at least one of the victims, who she said appeared to be bleeding badly.
Thrush said she's just trying to take the whole incident in stride.
"I'm a farm girl so (laughs) things happen, and you get over them," Thrush said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's rare for the squirrels to carry rabies or infect people with the disease.
The senior living facility has put out traps in hopes of catching the squirrel.
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