A Mississippi mother of five shot a monkey that escaped when a truck overturned and the animal ran into her backyard Sunday, according to The Associated Press.
Jessica Bond Ferguson, 35, grabbed her gun and her cell phone and stepped outside after her son told her he saw the animal running in the backyard of their Heidelberg home, The Associated Press reported. Bond Ferguson told the outlet she shot the animal twice before it fell.
“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson said. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”
Bond Ferguson, a professional chef whose children range from 4 to 16-years-old, said she fired her gun because she and other local residents had been warned that monkeys carry diseases. Bond Ferguson told The Associated Press she called the police before going outside and shooting the animal, but she feared it would get away and potentially threaten other children.
“If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me. It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards,” she explained.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a monkey had been spotted by a homeowner in Heidelberg, Mississippi, but did not mention the shooting.
“A homeowner on Highway 503 near Heidelberg found one of the monkeys on their property this morning. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks responded, and the monkey is now in their possession. We have no other details at the moment,” a statement posted on the sheriff department’s Facebook page read.
Deputies from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department killed several rhesus monkeys Tuesday following a truck crash on I-59 after a trucker claimed the monkeys carried COVID-19, herpes and hepatitis C. The truck was originally believed to be transporting monkeys from Tulane University, but the sheriff’s office later shared a statement from the university indicating that the monkeys belonged to “another entity” and were “not infectious.”
The sheriff’s office said all but one monkey had been “destroyed” in an Oct. 28 statement.
“All but one of the escaped monkeys have been destroyed. We have been in contact with an animal disposal company to help handle the situation. Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries is also on site with our local law enforcement. We are continuing to look for the one monkey that is still on the loose,” the sheriff’s office indicated at the time. (RELATED: ‘What In The World?’: Diaper-Wearing Animal On Loose Interrupts Halloween Shoppers)
Rhesus macaques weigh about 16 pounds and are used in medical research, according to The Associated Press. They are “known to be aggressive,” the outlet reported, citing the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.
The Daily Caller contacted the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.