A rabid beaver came charging out of a New Jersey lake Sunday and sank its teeth into an 8-year-old boy fishing on the shore, police said.

The incident happened at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday inside Lake Henry’s Continental Soldiers Park complex in Mahwah, according to News12. The boy was casting a line from the bank when the animal stormed out of the water and went straight for him, Mahwah Police Capt. Michael Blondin said, PIX11 News reported. (RELATED: Bear Attacks Two Hikers, Officials Shut Down Parts Of National Park)

“The child began to run away but tripped. The animal bit the child in the upper thigh and continued to attack him,” Blondin said.

Video posted on Facebook shows multiple people fending off a beaver, with one throwing it back into the lake. Two dogs can be seen barking at the animal, with one jumping in after it.

A family acquaintance standing nearby rushed in, throwing punches and kicks at the beaver until it backed off, though it kept prowling the shoreline afterward, News 12 New Jersey reported, citing police. The child was sent to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators discovered the same animal had gone after other visitors earlier the same day, with several people now seeking medical care, News 12 reported. Tyco Animal Control noticed the beaver looked sick, ABC7 New York reported. The animal was trapped and shipped off for laboratory work.

By Tuesday, Mahwah officials revealed the rodent had come back positive for rabies, NBC New York reported. Health authorities are warning anyone who could have come into contact with the animal to phone the Mahwah Township Health Department immediately for evaluation.