No decision has been made yet on whether charges will be brought against the parents of a 3-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, causing an animal response team to sho
No decision has been made yet on whether charges will be brought against the parents of a 3-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, causing an animal response team to shoot and kill the primate, authorities said.
Cincinnati city spokesman Rocky Merz said on Wednesday no determination has been made on possible charges nor has anything related to the case been released by city or county departments.
Mr Merz said an investigation into the Saturday incident at the zoo is ongoing and that Hamilton county prosecutor Joe Deters will review the case. Meanwhile, 911 tapes released on Wednesday by Cincinnati police reveal the confusion and panic in the moments when the boy plunged into the zoo’s gorilla exhibit. “He’s dragging my son! I can’t watch this!” a woman, who isn’t identified, says in the 911 call on Saturday.
As she pleads for help, she shouts at her son repeatedly: “Be calm!” The zoo’s dangerous animal response team shot and killed the gorilla within 10 minutes to protect the boy after he dropped some 15 feet into the exhibit. The boy’s family isn’t commenting on the police investigation, but they released a statement saying he continues to do well and expressed gratitude to the Cincinnati Zoo for protecting his life. A record of police calls shows nine minutes passed between the first emergency call about the boy falling into the enclosure and when the child was safe.
