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    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

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    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Eula Ray, of Hamilton, whose son is a curator for the zoo, touches a sympathy card beside a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On Saturday, a special zoo response team shot and killed Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla, that grabbed and dragged a 4-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat. Authorities said the boy is expected to recover. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

    The killing of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy tumbled into the ape’s enclosure triggered outrage and questions about safety, but zoo officials called the decision to use lethal force a tough but necessary choice.

    More than 2,000 people signed a petition on Change.org that sharply criticized the Cincinnati Police Department and the zoo for putting down the animal and called for the child’s parents to be “held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child.”

    Cincinnati police on Sunday said the parents had not been charged, but that charges could eventually be sought by the Hamilton County prosecuting attorney. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)

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