The 65-pound mountain lion attacked the boy on Thursday while he was in his front yard, wounding his head, neck and upper torso, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

After the boy’s mother “fended off the lion by striking it multiple times,” the boy was transported to a hospital, where he remains in stable condition, the department stated.

Wildlife officials began immediately investigating the incident, and during a “protocol clearing” of the family’s yard an officer discovered “an aggressive mountain lion crouched in the corner of the property.”

“Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site,” the department said.

About 20 minutes later, two more mountain lions appeared, one of which had a collar around its neck. After confirming that the animal that attacked the boy didn’t have a collar, the wildlife officer tranquilized the other mountain lion.

Officers collected DNA samples from both the dead animal and the tranquilized one, as well as the boy who was attacked.

“Wildlife Forensics Scientists analyzed samples from underneath the claws of the suspect lion carcass and isolated traces of human tissue and blood with a DNA profile that matched the young victim. Additionally, a full lion DNA profile was isolated from the victim’s shirt that matched the profile of the lion carcass,” the department said.

Officials said the “results were conclusive” and the lion that attacked the boy was the one shot at the scene.

In an interview with the Associated Press, department spokesperson Patrick Foy said the “true hero of this story” is the boy’s mother because “she absolutely saved her son’s life.”

“The mother was inside the house when she heard commotion outside,” Foy said.

“She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son,” he added.

Foy noted that when the mountain lion attacked the boy it “dragged him about 45 yards” across the yard.

The incident on Thursday marks the first confirmed attack on a human by a mountain lion in Los Angeles County in more than 25 years, news station KTLA reports.