Fox Attacks 2nd Grader, 3 Others on Connecticut Playground

A Connecticut community is on high alert after a fox attacked people on an elementary school playground, biting at least four people, including a second-grade boy.

The fox on the run outside Broad Brook Elementary School in East Windsor Monday attacked 7-year-old Evan Witzke during an outdoor gym class. Physical education teacher Elissa Daniele risked her own safety for the students and ripped the animal off him.

"It was trying to gnaw at his wrists and ankles," Daniele told ABC News. "I knew I had to pin the fox down to get it away from my student to keep my student safe."

Daniele was teaching class around 11:30 a.m. when she noticed the fox sneak out of the woods and latch on to her student. Once Daniele was able to corral the fox, she wrapped a neck brace around its mouth to prevent it from biting. She then trapped it under a recycling bin.

Daniele and a staffer were also bitten. It's unclear whether the fox is rabid.

Authorities believe the same fox also attacked nearby resident Danielle Bopko earlier that day while she was on her way to breakfast to celebrate getting engaged less than 24 hours before coming face-to-face with the animal.

"I have never experienced an animal that when you scare it, it keeps coming back and coming back, it almost came in the house and I kicked it," Bopko told ABC News affiliate WTNH-TV in New Haven.

All four victims have been treated for rabies as a precaution and are expected to make full recoveries, largely thanks to a gym teacher turned protector.

"I don't see it as heroic," Daniele said. "I just wanted to keep my students safe. I do that every day."