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'U should've been shot': Mother of boy whose fall left rare gorilla dead faces backlash
Over 300,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the boy's parents to be charged by police for the death of the 17-year-old endangered ape
The mother of the three-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday defended her parenting skills on social media, as a petition to have charges laid against her grows with over 300,000 signatures.
In a Facebook post that's since been deleted, Michelle Gregg responded to critics by saying, "As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids."
"Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today," the post said.
The online petition, which had 314,166 supporters as of Tuesday morning, said that the Cincinnati Zoo, Hamilton County Child Protection Services and the Cincinnati Police Department should hold the boy's parents responsible for the accident.
"We the undersigned want the parents to be held accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life," the petition said.
The petition also questioned the parenting abilities of Gregg, writing that "this negligence may be reflective of the child's home situation."
"We the undersigned actively encourage an investigation of the child's home environment in the interests of protecting the child and his siblings from further incidents of parental negligence that may result in serious bodily harm or even death."
Gregg wrote on Facebook that her son "is safe" after being dragged by the 400-pound-plus silverback gorilla named Harambe, and managed to walk away with only "a concussion and a few scrapes."
This negligence may be reflective of the child's home situation
But despite the fact the boy suffered no serious injuries, animal activists and online protestors are angry that an endangered specie was shot, and are urging for "justice for Harambe."
"I strongly believe that Michelle Gregg needs to be held fully accountable for the death of an endangered species, child endangerment, neglect, and if stupidity was a charge, that too," one petition commenter wrote.
"A 17 year old Silver back was killed because of terrible parenting and neglect."
Other women who share the mother's name on social media received threatening messages intended for her, attacks that called her "scum," "a really bad mother" and a "(expletive) killer."
"That animal is more important than your (expletive) kid," one man messaged, while another woman wrote "u should've been shot."
Cincinnati police said Tuesday morning that there are no charges being made against the boy's parents at this time.
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'Justice for Harambe': Activists hold vigil for gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo after boy fell into enclosure
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Gorilla shot dead at Ohio zoo after dragging four-year-old boy who fell into enclosure
A witness named Deidre Lykins described what she saw and heard in a long post on Facebook, which has been shared nearly 43,000 times. Lykins wrote that the mother was not negligent, and that the zoo did "an awesome job" handling the situation.
"None of us actually thought he'd go over the nearly 15 foot drop, but he was crawling so fast through the bushes before myself or husband could grab him, he went over! The crowed (sic) got a little frantic and the mother was calling for her son. Actually, just prior to him going over, but she couldn't see him crawling through the bushes! She said 'He was right here! I took a pic and his hand was in my back pocket and then gone!'"
Zoo officials said the young boy climbed through a barrier at the Gorilla World exhibit and dropped 15 feet into the moat Saturday afternoon. He was in the exhibit for about 10 minutes until the zoo's dangerous-animal response team shot and killed the 17-year-old ape.
Two witnesses said they thought the gorilla was trying to protect the boy at first before getting spooked by the screams of onlookers. The animal then picked the child up out of the moat and dragged him to another spot inside the exhibit, zoo officials said.
Witness Kim O'Connor shared video she and her family recorded of the boy and Harambe. The two appear in a corner of the exhibit while visitors yell, "Somebody call the zoo!" and "Mommy's right here!"
One voice captured in the video yelled, "Mommy loves you!"
At a news conference Monday, Zoo Director Thane Maynard further defended the zoo's decision to fatally shoot the gorilla, whose nickname was "handsome Harambe."
"We're talking about an animal that I've seen crush a coconut with one hand," Maynard said, noting that the stress of the situation had made the gorilla's behaviour even more erratic. "The child was being dragged around, his head was banging on concrete. This was not a gentle thing."
Maynard said the gorilla didn't appear to be attacking the child but was "an extremely strong" animal in an agitated situation. He said tranquilizing the gorilla wouldn't have knocked it out immediately, leaving the boy in danger.
"They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life," Maynard said.
With files from the Associated Press and the Washington Post
Source: https://nationalpost.com/news/u-shouldve-been-shot-mother-of-boy-whose-fall-left-rare-gorilla-dead-faces-backlash
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