Coyote that attacked three young children in Southern California euthanized, Fish and Wildlife officials say

A coyote that attacked three children in Carson over the last couple of months has been humanely euthanized, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says.

CDFW officials said DNA testing confirms that the coyote was responsible for attacking a young child in Carson on Feb. 11 and another on March 31 and Levi Martinez on March 30. 

"It just never dawned on me that a coyote would be that aggressive," said Levi's father, Robert. He said that they were about a mile from where a 4-year-old boy was bit in Carson on Monday night when the attack happened.

The coyote was captured after officials conducted an operation to locate it.

On Tuesday, the coyote bit a young child twice in front of their home as family members were unloading their car. Home surveillance video from the incident shows the coyote coming up to the young child and biting them before running off.

Fish and Wildlife officials also received reports of two other coyote attacks in Gardena and Dignity Health Sports Park within a week before Tuesday's incident. DNA samples from those incidents have been collected and sent to a lab for further testing, and on Friday night, Levi's mother told CBS LA that the DNA taken from his clothing matched the DNA from two other children who were attacked.

A fourth attack has also been reported in the same short time period, wildlife officials said, noting that a 31-year-old woman was also attacked last week. 

"If a coyote is displaying these kinds of violent, aggressive tendencies, that makes them a danger to the public," said CDFW spokesperson Cort Klopping. "With coyotes specifically, you don't relocate them. You have to put them back where you found them, because coyotes are so territorial that that would cause substantial conflict."

Last August, CBS LA reported that a 6-year-old boy was attacked by a coyote during a youth softball tournament in Carson. It is unclear if the coyote euthanized was responsible for last year's attack.

Officials remind the public to report aggressive wildlife immediately, always supervise children outdoors, keep pets on a leash and close by and avoid leaving food or trash accessible.