Rat Bites Little Boy
(New Haven-WTNH) _ A terrifying "rat attack" has one local family outraged. The bite happened Sunday in a New Haven public housing complex. Three year old Devon Coleman had been asleep in his bed when a rodent got under the sheets and bit his ankle.
News Channel 8's Ned Berkowitz reports.

Ned: "This is where the rats come through? Mice and rats come right through and that's all they gave you is that board and yet you can still put your hand through there even with that board there?" "Even with it here I can still put it underneath there."

You can still see the tooth marks where Devon Coleman was bitten by a rat, while he slept in his bed. Emotional scars remain as well.

Leona Ramirez Coleman, Mother: "I gotta have my kids sleep with me cause my son is scared to sleep inside his room now. And if I do put him in his room, without him even being scared, how do I know they ain't gonna crawl up in his bed again?"

Leona Ramirez Coleman says she's been complaining about rodents for months, documenting her case with photos of rats and their droppings, but little has been done.

Coleman: "I need help, I need something done. Nobody's trying to help me. What am I supposed to do?"

Coleman called News Channel 8. We placed a call to the Housing Authority, and during our interview, the director of the agency came to the door.

"I came by to see if maintenance was responding to your concerns."
"No, they didn't."

Ned: "is it unusual for the director of the housing authority to come visit after a complaint like this?"
Edward Bland, Housing Authority: "Well, I just want to be more involved and make sure that the maintenance staff is following up on complaints when we get them from residents."

Coleman showed Bland rodent droppings and the holes in her walls. He promised action but says residents here must also take responsibility to keep the Franklin Street complex clean.

Bland: "Part of the main problem is people putting a lot of trash outside and that's what they're feeding off of."

The courtyard, though cleaned regularly, is quickly littered again. Nevertheless residents say sanitation workers left this dead pigeon here for days. And Coleman says Bland's visit did not convince her the rats would be gone anytime soon.

Ned: "So what would it take to satisfy you then?"
"I want out of these projects."

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