“I felt something like a bolster had been rolled down the stairs behind me and got me right in the back of both knees. And then the bolster bit,” he told the outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hamilton said he initially managed to fend off the raccoon, but the wild animal came back ready to attack him a second time, per WJAR.<\/p>\n
“The raccoon regained its composure, having been kicked off the stairs, and looked like it was going to have an assault number two,” he recalled. Hamilton had his cane with him, which he used to “crack [the raccoon] over the head,” causing him to run away.<\/p>\n
The 91-year-old suffered bite marks on his legs in the attack and reported the attack to Rhode Island’s Department of Health (RIDOH), per WJAR.<\/p>\n
RIDOH said in a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, Oct. 19, “Our public health nurses interviewed a person who had an encounter with a raccoon in Barrington, Rhode Island during the week of October 5. However, the person was not treated with the rabies vaccine, based on the information they shared.”<\/p>\n
The raccoon was not tested for rabies, RIDOH confirmed. The department did not reveal the person’s identity.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/c09798a258888b3b9d895cbe1d900d71.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
A raccoon (stock image)
Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
Hamilton told WJAR of his injuries, “I looked at the other side of the tracksuit bottoms, there is no mark. So, what I feel is that those little claws pulled that up and they got a clear shot at the flesh there and gave me a rip.”<\/p>\n