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A Mississippi mother said she shot and killed one of the monkeys that escaped after a truck overturned last week, fearing it posed a threat to her children and others in the neighborhood.
Jessica Bond Ferguson told The Associated Press that she was in bed Sunday when her 16-year-old son alerted her to a monkey running through the yard of their home near Heidelberg. Bond Ferguson said she grabbed her cellphone and a firearm before stepping outside and spotting the animal about 60 feet away.
Bond Ferguson, a 35-year-old professional chef, said she opened fire out of concern for her children’s safety.
“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” said Bond Ferguson, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday that a homeowner found one of the escaped monkeys on their property that morning. In a social media post, the sheriff’s office said the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks had taken custody of the animal but offered no further details.
Before Bond Ferguson stepped outside, she said she called police and was told to keep an eye on the monkey. But she hesitated, worried that if it got away, it could pose a threat to children at a nearby home.
“If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me,” said Bond Ferguson. “It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards.”
A truck transporting 21 rhesus monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 near Heidelberg, Mississippi, setting off a days-long search for the escaped animals.
According to Tulane University, 13 monkeys were located at the crash site and successfully transported to their intended destination last week. Five were killed during the search effort, while three remained unaccounted for until one was recovered Sunday by a homeowner, officials said.
The monkeys were housed at the Tulane National Primate Research Center in New Orleans, which supplies primates to scientific research organizations. In a statement, Tulane clarified that the animals were not owned by the university, nor were they being transported by university personnel.
Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson said initial reports from the truck’s occupants warned that the monkeys were dangerous and potentially carried diseases. However, Tulane officials later confirmed the monkeys had recently received health screenings and were pathogen-free.
Despite that, Johnson noted that authorities still considered the animals a threat due to their aggressive nature and stated they needed to be “neutralized.”
The status of the two remaining at-large monkeys was unclear as of the latest update.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from Jackson, the state capital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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