Bobcat walks into Ariz. bar, attacks patrons

[March 27, 2009]  COTTONWOOD, Ariz. (AP) -- A bobcat has attacked three people in the central Arizona community of Cottonwood, including two men who were bitten by the animal after it wandered inside a bar.

Officers called to the Chapparal Bar arrived to find the bobcat in the parking lot, where they shot and killed it.

Tests were ordered to determine if the animal was rabid. It wasn't clear how seriously the victims had been wounded.

Cottonwood police say the animal attacked Monday when it scratched a woman who thought she had hit it with her car. Then police got a report of a bobcat acting aggressively toward a woman outside a Pizza Hut.

About 11 p.m. came the call from the bar that a bobcat was inside as patrons climbed atop bar stools to get away.

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Information from: KVRD-FM, http://www.myradioplace.com/

[Associated Press]

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