Police are reportedly investigating whether one or more of the young men mauled by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo may have taunted the animal before its deadly rampage, a possibility the father of one of the victims said Thursday he hoped wasn’t true reports the Daily News.
“I don’t think my son would do something like taunt animals,” Carlos Sousa told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It’s unbelievable, but only the evidence can prove that. And right now I can’t say much.”
His son, Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, was one of three men attacked by a Siberian tiger around closing time on Christmas. Police shot the 300-pound animal to death after it killed Sousa and severely mauled two brothers who also were visiting the zoo.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, police found a shoe and blood in an area between the gate and the edge of the animal’s 25- to 30-foot-wide moat, prompting the possibility that one of the victims dangled a leg or other body part over the edge of the moat.
Police on Thursday could not confirm the Chronicle’s report to The Associated Press.
“I don’t think this deserves to happen to anybody - taunting or not taunting,” Carlos Sousa told ABC. “Animals should be protected from the people and the people should be protected from the animals.”
Police Chief Heather Fong said Wednesday the department opened a criminal investigation to “determine if there was human involvement in the tiger getting out or if the tiger was able to get out on its own.”
Read it here: Siberian Tiger may have been taunted by its Victims