2 Attacked by Hawks on NYC College Campus: Officials

Public safety officials believe a larger hawk has become aggressive and is attacking people in an effort to protect a smaller hawk

Hawks attacked two people on St. John's University's Queens campus in the past two days, according to the school's public safety officials. 

The first victim was attacked by a hawk while standing in front of the school's University Center on Wednesday, public safety officials said in a statement. The second was attacked Thursday while standing behind St. John Hall. 

Both victims were cut on the head during the attacks, officials said. They were treated for the minor injuries and are OK. 

Public safety officials believe the hawk had become aggressive and was attacking people in an effort to protect a smaller hawk, which may be injured. That smaller hawk was captured later Thursday. 

"St. John's University has a had a history of hawks living on its Queens campus for years, and this isolated incident appears to be related to the apparent injury to one of the hawks," said Dominic Scianna, a university spokesman. 

School public safety officials are asking students and other visitors to avoid the area for the time being. 

Cath Horvath, a vet tech who works with her firefighter husband to rescue wildlife around the city, says on her Facebook page the two captured a fledgling red tail on the campus Thursday. 

"A few people got scratched on the head by the mom hawk diving down while trying to protect her baby," she said, adding they would bring the baby back to a nearby area. 

Photos of the baby hawk show it seemed to be doing just fine. 

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