NAPLES, FL – A Collier County Sheriff’s deputy was forced to fatally shoot a Malayan tiger that had grabbed a man’s arm at a Florida zoo on Wednesday according to body camera footage released by authorities. In the video, the man is seen and heard screaming in agony and pleading for help just before the sheriff’s deputy shot the animal after attempting to locate a tranquilizer gun but running out of time.
“You gotta shoot it! You gotta shoot it, please!” the man pleads in desperation as the deputy asked for a tranquilizer. After the deputy shot the animal, someone is heard saying: “We tried, man. We tried to get him off. You did the right thing.”
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the 26-year-old Naples man, later identified as maintenance worker River Rosenquist, was working at the zoo when he allegedly scaled a fence to pet or feed the 8-year-old tiger. The animal then bit down on his arm and would not let go.
Rosenquist was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, following the attack, and is expected to go through a “very difficult recovery,” according to reports. He may potentially face criminal charges for entering what is considered by zoo officials to be an ‘unauthorized area’ at the Naples Zoo, ABC News reported
Comments are closed.