DNA TESTS confirm that the coyote killed by Huntington Beach police was the one who attacked a young girl near the pier (File photo).

(AP) DNA from a coyote that bit a girl on Huntington Beach last week matched samples from one of two coyotes shot and killed following the attack, authorities said.

The 2-year-old child was hospitalized with bites to her head and face that were not considered life-threatening after she was attacked near the Huntington Beach Pier last Thursday night.

Huntington Beach police responded and shot two coyotes found in the coastal area south of Los Angeles, police Lt. Shawn Randell said.

Samples taken from the girl’s wounds were used to confirm that the animal that bit her had been killed, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Patrick Foy said.

The girl was with her mother on the sand when she wandered “a mere few feet” and was attacked, Foy said last week.

The coyote came out of the dark, hit and knocked over the girl and attacked her for 12 seconds before her cry alerted adults and the animal ran off, Foy said.

However, it stayed around, pacing, before finally fleeing, Foy said.