Newport Police Say Drunken Group Played with Rabid Raccoon in Front of City Hall

A group of six intoxicated people who reportedly teased and chased around a rabid raccoon in front of Newport City Hall on Saturday did not come in direct contact with the animal, according to Newport police, though one man’s shoe did get bitten.

Fortunately, that bite did not puncture the shoe, but police did not come to that conclusion until hours later, after officers painstakingly tracked down each person who was there by the bus shelter on Broadway.

Police said an initial report was by a woman who claimed to see multiple people bleeding as a result of the incident.

One man, she said, was bitten in the foot and then boarded a bus moments later.

Police eventually identified everyone involved and gradually pieced together what actually happened, which ultimately involved no human injury but was still a bit disturbing.

Police checked with Newport Hospital and medical facilities, contacted area homeless shelters and known hangouts and one by one, officers confirmed that each person did not come in direct contact with the rabid raccoon, though they said the group teased the animal, apparently amused by the odd behavior typical of a rabies infection.

“The highly intoxicated list of individuals were calling the raccoon over as if it were a dog,” a police report stated.

They reportedly chased and followed the animal around and one person said they almost got bit but ”pulled [their] hand away at the last second.”

The animal was destroyed at the scene after a report of an animal in distress in front of the Thompson Middle School, which is next door to City Hall and the bus shelter, where issues with public intoxication are routine.

Police believe they’ve accounted for everyone who engaged with the animal, though the state Health Department issued an advisory on Monday after tests over the weekend showed the animal was in fact rabid.

“Without proper treatment for rabies exposure, rabies can develop and the infection is virtually always fatal,” the health department said in a release. “When administered properly, post-exposure treatment for rabies will prevent any person who was exposed to the virus from developing the disease and prevent death.”