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Cincinnati Zoo gorilla shot dead after dragging child who fell into exhibit

Some claimed the gorilla appeared to be protecting the boy.

By Yvette C. Hammett
A 17-year-old western lowland Gorilla was shot and killed Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy slipped in to its enclosure. Photo from Cincinnati Zoo/Twitter
A 17-year-old western lowland Gorilla was shot and killed Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy slipped in to its enclosure. Photo from Cincinnati Zoo/Twitter

CINCINNATI, May 29 (UPI) -- A western lowland gorilla was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo Saturday after it grabbed a 4-year-old boy who had slipped into the animal's enclosure.

The child was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Zoo Director Thane Maynard said it appeared the boy went under the rail, through wires and over the moat wall.

Harambe, the 17-year-old, 400-pound gorilla, carried the boy around the habitat for about 10 minutes in what the zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team considered a life-threatening situation, Maynard said at a press briefing.

The gorilla, one of a highly endangered species, was shot with a rifle,CNN reported.

A zoo employee shot the gorilla when the child was in between its legs,, ABC News reported. Zoo employees then unlocked the gate to allow two firefighters to retrieve the child.

The child's name was not released.

"The child was not under attack but all sorts of things could happen," Maynard said. "He certainly was at risk." He said zoo officials decided against shooting Harambe with a tranquilizer because the drug takes effect too slowly. "You don't hit him and he falls over. It takes a few minutes."

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The zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team is said to have followed procedures and reportedly did all it could to secure the child's safety WKRC Cincinnati reported.

"The Zoo security team's quick response saved the child's life. We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically-endangered gorilla," Maynard said. "This is a huge loss for the family and the gorilla population worldwide."

An eye witness who shot video of the incident told WLWT in Cincinnati it almost appeared as if the gorilla was trying to protect the child from the crowd of onlookers hanging on the enclosure's fencing.

Kim O'Conner told a reporter, "He pulled the boy down further away from the big group (of people)." She said the boy had been talking about wanting to go in to the gorilla enclosure and his mother, who was tending to several other children, told him he could not.

In another video, the child's mother can be heard calling to him that she is nearby and that she loves him. The gorilla is also seen forcefully dragging the boy in the water.

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O'Conner said she did not see the gorilla being shot. "We were hoping, hoping that they were just putting him to sleep."

While the hospital is not releasing details, the child was reportedly alert when transported to Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The zoo is open Sunday, but Gorilla World is closed until further notice.

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