Leopard Mauls 6-Year-Old Boy Playing With Other Children Outside Home

A 6-year-old boy in India was mauled to death by a leopard while he was playing outside his house with some children.

Authorities said Sunday the incident occurred in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The child, identified only as Sahil, was outside his home when the leopard grabbed him by the neck, Divisional Forest Officer of Katarniaghat Wildlife Division Akashdeep Badhawan said, according to media outlet NDTV.

Authorities said by the time the villagers and the Forest Department staff arrived at the scene, the child had already died. Villagers started shouting to scare away the animal, following which it dropped the child and ran into the jungle.

Following the attack, the officials captured a leopard in Motipur range of Katarniya wildlife sanctuary Sunday evening. They suspect the animal was a man-eater. Nearly 15,000 angry villagers had gathered in the area as this was not the first case of leopard attack in the region, the Print reported, citing the Press Trust of India.

While it remained unclear if the captured leopard was the one who killed Sahil, the animal was believed to be responsible for previous attacks in the state.

Officials had laid baits at some locations to trap the animal, The Times of India reported. A forest official said the leopard’s first kill was a 4-year-old boy on Jan. 17. Two days later, it killed a 9-year-old child. Both the attacks took place in Motipur of Katarniaghat range. The leopard was also believed to be responsible for the death of a 12-year-old girl.

Leopard and human conflict has seen a rise in the state and other parts of the country recently as more land is being used for farming, making people come in close contact with the animals in their natural habitat. This has not only increased fatalities among humans, but also among leopards as many animals have been killed due to the threats they pose.

In December, a leopard strayed into a school and attacked a student in an empty classroom. The incident took place at the Chaudhary Nihal Singh Inter College in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The student was attacked and left bleeding when he entered the classroom without realizing the animal was inside. The leopard was locked inside the classroom following the attack.