Advertisement

Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

  • <p>Eula Ray, of Hamilton, whose son is a curator for the zoo, touches a sympathy card beside a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On Saturday, a special zoo response team shot and killed Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla, that grabbed and dragged a 4-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat. Authorities said the boy is expected to recover. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    1/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Eula Ray, of Hamilton, whose son is a curator for the zoo, touches a sympathy card beside a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On Saturday, a special zoo response team shot and killed Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla, that grabbed and dragged a 4-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat. Authorities said the boy is expected to recover. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>Harambe is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by Cincinnati Zoo. <em>(Cincinnati Zoo/Handout via Reuters)</em> </p>
    2/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Harambe is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by Cincinnati Zoo. (Cincinnati Zoo/Handout via Reuters)

  • <p>Animal rights activists and mourners gather for a Memorial Day vigil outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016 in Cincinnati for Harambe, the gorilla killed Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) </p>
    3/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Animal rights activists and mourners gather for a Memorial Day vigil outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016 in Cincinnati for Harambe, the gorilla killed Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>Lucas Salcedo, 5, points toward the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit as he asks his father if they could enter at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    4/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Lucas Salcedo, 5, points toward the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit as he asks his father if they could enter at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>Visitors pass a gorilla statue where flowers have been placed outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    5/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Visitors pass a gorilla statue where flowers have been placed outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>A sign is held outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden during a demonstration as a zoo visitor enters the grounds via a foot bridge, Monday May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. Animal rights activists and mourners gathered Monday for a Memorial Day vigil for the Harambe, a gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) </p>
    6/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    A sign is held outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden during a demonstration as a zoo visitor enters the grounds via a foot bridge, Monday May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. Animal rights activists and mourners gathered Monday for a Memorial Day vigil for the Harambe, a gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>Children pause at the feet of a gorilla statue where flowers and a sympathy card have been placed, outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    7/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Children pause at the feet of a gorilla statue where flowers and a sympathy card have been placed, outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>A child touches the head of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    8/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    A child touches the head of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>A visitor with a small child passes outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    9/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    A visitor with a small child passes outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>Children read a sympathy card left at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    10/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Children read a sympathy card left at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>Visitors pass outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    11/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    Visitors pass outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • <p>A visitor steps away from the closed entrance to the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    12/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    A visitor steps away from the closed entrance to the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>A sympathy card rests at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
    13/13

    Gorilla killed to save child sparks outrage

    A sympathy card rests at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

<p>Eula Ray, of Hamilton, whose son is a curator for the zoo, touches a sympathy card beside a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. On Saturday, a special zoo response team shot and killed Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla, that grabbed and dragged a 4-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat. Authorities said the boy is expected to recover. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>Harambe is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by Cincinnati Zoo. <em>(Cincinnati Zoo/Handout via Reuters)</em> </p>
<p>Animal rights activists and mourners gather for a Memorial Day vigil outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016 in Cincinnati for Harambe, the gorilla killed Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) </p>
<p>Lucas Salcedo, 5, points toward the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit as he asks his father if they could enter at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>Visitors pass a gorilla statue where flowers have been placed outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>A sign is held outside the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden during a demonstration as a zoo visitor enters the grounds via a foot bridge, Monday May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. Animal rights activists and mourners gathered Monday for a Memorial Day vigil for the Harambe, a gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and a special zoo response team concluded his life was in danger. There has been an outpouring on social media of people upset about the killing of the member of an endangered species. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) </p>
<p>Children pause at the feet of a gorilla statue where flowers and a sympathy card have been placed, outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>A child touches the head of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Sunday, May 29, 2016. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>A visitor with a small child passes outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>Children read a sympathy card left at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>Visitors pass outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>A visitor steps away from the closed entrance to the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
<p>A sympathy card rests at the feet of a gorilla statue at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. <em>(AP Photo/John Minchillo)</em> </p>
Yahoo News Photo

The killing of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy tumbled into the ape’s enclosure triggered outrage and questions about safety, but zoo officials called the decision to use lethal force a tough but necessary choice.

More than 2,000 people signed a petition on Change.org that sharply criticized the Cincinnati Police Department and the zoo for putting down the animal and called for the child’s parents to be “held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child.”

Cincinnati police on Sunday said the parents had not been charged, but that charges could eventually be sought by the Hamilton County prosecuting attorney. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr!