Witness Said She Saw 3-Year-Old Boy ‘Flop’ Into Cincinnati Zoo Enclosure

A witness at the Cincinnati Zoo has defended the mother of the 3-year-old boy who slipped into the gorilla enclosure, prompting officials to shoot and kill the animal.

The incident sparked backlash across the world. Some directed their ire against the mother of the boy, while others blamed zoo officials.

Witness Deidre Lykins wrote on Facebook that the incident was a “terrible accident” and said the mother was “not negligent.” Lykins said the woman was taking a photo of a female gorilla when her other son spotted the 3-year-old crawling toward the enclosure.

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According to the Lewis County Herald in Kentucky, Deidre and her husband David Lykins—who are from Vanceburg, Kentucky—were visiting the gorilla exhibit when the incident occurred.

“I looked down and to my surprise there was a small child that had literally ‘flopped’ over the railing where there was then about 3 feet of ground that [he] quickly crawled through,” Lykins said, according to MailOnline.

Lykins said the mother told her that her son’s hand was in her back pocket when he suddenly disappeared.

“As she could find him nowhere, she looked to my husband [already over the railing talking to child] and asked ‘sir is he wearing green shorts?’ My husband reluctantly had to tell her ‘yes’ and she then nearly had a breakdown,” she said.

“They were both wanting to go over into the 15ft drop [but] I forbade my husband to do so. I then attempted to calm the mother by calling 911 and assure her help was on the way,” Lykins continued. “Neither my husband or the mother would have made that jump without breaking something!”

She added: “I wasn’t leaving with my boys, because I didn’t trust my husband not to jump in and the gorilla did just seem to be protective of the child.”

Lykins then said the gorilla, named Harambe, got agitated due to the “dramatic” and “helpless” crowd.

Another witness captured footage of the gorilla dragging the boy through the enclosure’s water.

“It was very violent. Although I think the gorilla was still trying to protect, we’re talking a 400 pound gorilla throwing a 40 pound toddler around. It was horrific!” Lykins added. “The zoo responded very quickly, clearing the area and attempting to save both the child and the gorilla! The right choice was made.”

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An animal expert, University of New Zealand professor Gisela Kaplan, who has worked with gorillas, said that the gorilla was likely startled by the screaming, The Age reported.

“Gorillas don’t attack. They are a peaceful species,” she said. “They will only attack if there’s a real threat to their own existence There are records of them saving children before in very similar situations when a child had fallen into an enclosure.”