Police initially thought the girl was attacked by an animal due her injuries, but later arrested a 17-year-old boy

A small rural community in Canada is reeling after police said the horrific attack of an eight-year-old girl was not caused by an animal, as they had suspected, but allegedly by a teenage boy who they have now charged with attempted murder.

The residents of Quadeville, a town of a few hundred people in southern Ontario, are questioning local law enforcement’s handling of the case after officials initially told them to keep their children indoors to protect them against a possible offending animal.