Forty cows escape Los Angeles slaughterhouse, injuring four members of a family
- The cows ran loose on the streets after a gate at a meatpacking facility was left open, police said
- A policeman shot and killed the cow that charged the family, who were taken to hospital for treatment
Forty cows escaped a slaughterhouse and ended up in a Los Angeles suburb where one was killed after charging a family, authorities said on Wednesday.
The cows ran loose on the streets of Pico Rivera on Tuesday evening after a gate at a meat packing facility was accidentally left open, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The herd made its way to a neighbourhood about a mile away and one cow charged at four members of a family, knocking them to the ground. They suffered minor injuries.
A policeman shot and killed the cow to protect the family from further injury, the sheriff’s department said. The family members were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Pico Rivera City Manager Steve Carmona said that at one point he had to jump on to a car to get out of the way of the herd.
“It was a pretty scary ordeal,” he said.
The sheriff’s mounted unit was dispatched to help recapture and transport the cows.
“Of the 40, 38 were safely captured, one was shot, and one has not been located,” the department said.
