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A closer look at what happened at the Cincinnati Zoo

A 17-year-old endangered gorilla named Harambe was fatally shot at a Cincinnati zoo to protect a 4-year-old boy who had fallen into its outdoor exhibit over the weekend, sparking outrage among animal rights activists.

Here’s a closer look at the sequence of events:

—About 4 p.m. Saturday: A boy crawled through a 3-foot-tall barrier at the zoo’s gorilla exhibit and fell about 15 feet into a moat.

—Zookeepers signaled to the gorillas in the enclosure to move inside in an attempt to keep them away from the boy. Two female gorillas did so, but a male, Harambe, did not.

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—After failing to heed the zookeeper’s instructions, Harambe climbed down into the moat with the child.

—In a two-and-a-half minute video of the incident, the gorilla stood over the boy, then dragged him through the water.

Onlookers in the video could be heard screaming, including a woman who yelled “Mommy’s right here” and “Mommy loves you.”

The gorilla dragged the boy through the water. YouTube screen capture

—After dragging the child, the animal could be seen in the video appearing to stand the boy up on his feet.

The gorilla appeared to stand the boy up on his feet. YouTube screen capture

—A few seconds later, Harambe dragged the boy again, further down the moat.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the gorilla then climbed out of the moat to another part of the enclosure with the boy in tow.

—Zoo staff shot and killed the gorilla with a single shot.

—The boy was between the gorilla’s legs when it was shot. The gorilla had the boy for about 10 minutes, a zoo official said.

Source: Cinncinati Enquirer, WLWT video