Police gun down bull on the loose in downtown Baltimore

(Reuters) - An escaped bull led Baltimore police on a 45-minute chase through downtown on Friday before officers gunned it down, police said. The adult bull was shot because it was increasingly becoming aggressive, a police statement said. The bull had fled a nearby slaughterhouse and was captured in a video posted on Twitter trotting down the median strip of a busy downtown street, shocking onlookers while it dodged traffic. "Officers tried several times to contain the bull," spokeswoman Sergeant Sarah Connolly told Reuters. "But each time he eluded us. He managed to travel a considerable distance." Several business owners called 911 to report the bull on the loose. The animal was shot around 11 a.m. Police did not release the name of the slaughterhouse. (The story is refiled to change "medium" to "median" in 3rd paragraph) (Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by Sandra Maler)