Bull bolts from Brooklyn slaughterhouse, leaves child with minor injuries
NEW YORK -- In a scene that you definitely don't see every day, a bull got loose Tuesday in Brooklyn, CBS New York reports, attracting a lot of attention in Prospect Park and on social media -- and also leaving a child with minor injuries.
The bull got loose shortly before 12 p.m. local time from a slaughterhouse, authorities said.
The bull mooed and ran rambunctiously down city streets and ended up two miles away at the parade ground in Prospect Park, CBS New York writes. Spectators flocked around in hopes of getting a glimpse of the farm animal in their urban backyard.
"My friend texted me like: 'You have to go down the street. Like on the news, there's a cow outside, and I was like, 'Are you serious?'" said Zara Ahmad. "So I ran out here, and all these people, and this is hilarious and amazing."
"Literally, the first time ever. I've never experienced anything like this," said Randi Arias. "This is a total culture shock right now."
"I've been living here almost 40 years, never seen one. Raccoons, yes; cows, no," one resident said.
But it wasn't so funny for everyone. The bull wandered wildly through city streets for hours, and even rammed into a mother and child who were walking on Parkside Avenue. Witnesses said the 1-year-old was knocked over and got a black eye.
"The mom was just crying. The baby was screaming in pain," said witness Alexis Small. "It was scary, and I had my son with me too."
The toddler was expected to recover after being rushed to a local medical center with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, the bull continued on its way, eventually ending up at an athletic field a few blocks away.
Several NYPD units attempted to corner the bull while controlling the crowd. As police approached the animal with a tranquilizer gun, one man begged them to let him use the skills he learned growing up on a farm.
"We can't, we're liable now. If he's your bull, you can catch him," an officer said.
"That's crazy," he replied.
"When a farm animal, like the bull found today in Prospect Park, is found loose in New York City, what you are witnessing is an individual who was so determined to live that they summoned every ounce of courage they could muster to make a dash for freedom," Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization, said in a statement.
Police eventually corralled the bull in a baseball dugout at around 1:20 p.m, sealing the exits with police trucks, WCBS-AM reports. The bull tried to leap over the hood of one of the trucks before an officer got a rope around its neck and lead it up a ramp into a horse trailer.
"I was just hoping they were more gentle with the cow than sometimes they are with people," one man said.
"It was a valiant effort," said a woman.
Residents hope the animal gets a second chance to live a long life.
"I think that's one lucky cow, because he was in the meat market," another woman said. "He was about to meet his demise, and here he is now."
The bull, nicknamed Jimmy K, was taken to the Skylands Animals Sanctuary in East New York, Brooklyn.
