Calif. tiger-mauling site a crime scene

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The San Francisco Zoo's Lion House was sealed off as a crime scene Thursday as police tried to sort out a deadly Siberian tiger escape Tuesday evening.

Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, was killed and two of his friends, ages 19 and 23, were mauled and listed in stable condition Thursday after multiple surgeries, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Police said there is no video surveillance of the area around the big cat enclosure, and asked for witnesses to come forward to clarify how the 350-pound tiger named Tatiana got out.

The cats' enclosure is surrounded by a 25-foot moat and a 14-foot high wall.

Four police officers responding to an escaped animal call spotted the tiger sitting beside one of the victims. It briefly attacked the man again and then turned on the officers. All four opened fire, killing it, the report said.

An autopsy was scheduled for Sousa, along with a necropsy on the tiger, police said.

The zoo was closed Wednesday but officials were considering partially reopening it Thursday, the newspaper said.