Cincinnati police are investigating the incident at the city’s zoo last weekend in which a child entered a gorilla enclosure, the local prosecutor’s office said.
A 3-year-old boy managed to get into the enclosure and was dragged across a moat by the 450-pound gorilla. After a 10-minute encounter, the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed the gorilla, named Harambe. The boy was not seriously injured.
“The Cincinnati Police Department is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident with the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo,” police spokeswoman Tiffaney Hardy said.
“After the review, we will determine if charges need to be brought forward. If it is determined charges need to be brought forward, we would then discuss it with the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office.”
It was not immediately clear whether the investigation will focus on the zoo or the boy’s mother, who was with the boy at the time.
Julie Wilson, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, declined to provide a timeline for how long the investigation might take.