A 4-year-old boy found his way into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday, which resulted in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old silverback gorilla Harambe.
The boy’s mother Michelle Gregg is currently being investigated by police — not to mention being mercilessly shamed on the internet for neglectful parenting.
But amid the public outcry, an eyewitness to the horrific incident is now speaking out in defense of the boy’s mother!
Related: How Will Harambe’s Death Affect The Other Zoo Gorillas?
After capturing the “tragedy” on film, Kim O’Conner thinks of the gorilla’s death as just a “horrible accident,” explaining:
“I’m never going to un-see it. But to charge someone criminally? I think that might not be the right thing to do.”
As for the backlash Gregg received for not properly watching her kid, O’Conner said:
“Children are adventurous, this stuff happens├óΓé¼┬ª I don’t think negligent is the right word.”
If she doesn’t like the word “negligent,” we’d suggest to use “inattentive” or “careless” instead!
Seriously, was she a witness to the parenting or lack thereof at all?
Related: Jane Goodall Responds To The Death Of Harambe The Gorilla!
O’Connor said her video didn’t capture quite how dangerous the situation was — failing to show the moment Harambe yanked the boy onto the cement part of the enclosure. She added:
“The purpose of the video was to show he’s touching the boy. You can spin it and say he was protecting him├óΓé¼┬ª But he had the boy, they didn’t see what happened on the top it was too horrific to even hold the camera steady to shoot anything that bad.”
Either way, it sounds like officials made the only call they could in the urgent situation.
Whether or not Gregg could have prevented the boy entering the enclosure, the mother immediately called 911 to report the terrifying incident — and was clearly very distraught.
Take a listen to her chilling 911 call (below)!
[Image via People/YouTube.]
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