An Oklahoma man was killed on Friday when he was attacked by two water buffaloes that he had bought at a livestock auction just a day earlier, the authorities said on Monday.
The man, Bradley McMichael, 47, was found in the animals’ enclosure with “multiple deep lacerations that proved to be fatal,” the Jones Police Department said in news release.
When emergency workers responded around 8:30 p.m. to McMichael Farms in Jones, Okla., northeast of Oklahoma City, Mr. McMichael was inside a structureand all they could see were his legs, Chief Bryan K. Farrington of the Jones police said in an interview on Monday.
By the time the workers were able to make their way to him, “he had succumbed to his injuries already,” according to the chief, who said that Mr. Michael had been attacked by both animals.
The animals, which were euthanized, delayed emergency responders from helping Mr. McMichael, the police said.
“We could not get through the gate to get to where Mr. McMichael was,” Chief Farrington said, describing how the water buffaloes had prevented help from getting to Mr. McMichael by “pushing back against the gate” and “raising the gate up in the air with their horns.”
“He was in the pen with them,” he said. “We could not get access to him because they would not let us in the pen.”
It’s believed that Mr. McMichael became trapped in the animals’ enclosure on Friday night while he was tending to them, according to the police.
McMichael Farms announced Mr. Michael’s death on Facebook on Sunday, noting that “we lost Bradley on Friday in a tragic accident.”
“His farm was his dream and I had the privilege of helping him with it for a little while,” said the post, which was signed by “Jennifer.”
Chief Farrington said that he was not aware of any previous fatal water buffalo attacks in the area, and that “multiple people around the area have had water buffalo before.”
Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.
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