UK Man arrested after boy injured in zoo crocodile enclosure - Crocodile Dundee Dindu Nuffin' ?

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Man arrested after boy injured in zoo crocodile enclosure

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The zoo houses crocodiles at its site near Huntingdon


A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy was left with critical injuries after ending up in a zoo's crocodile enclosure.

Cambridgeshire Police said it was called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, at 13:24 BST.

Andy Johnson, who runs the zoo, told the BBC his wife, Tracey, jumped into the enclosure to try to help the boy.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and officers added they do not believe the man and child were known to each other.

The force said it was investigating whether the child was attacked by the animals.

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital with serious injuries and is in a critical but stable condition, the force said.

A spokesperson for Johnsons of Old Hurst said its thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family.

"Out of respect to the family, our Tropical House will remain closed until further notice," they added.

"If you have any questions about the incident, please direct inquiries to Cambridgeshire Police Constabulary.

"The rest of the site will remain open as normal."

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The crocodiles are kept in a converted cattle barn, which has metal-fenced elevated walkways

Det Insp Verity McCann, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances.

"We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other. Officers are supporting the boy's family at hospital, and our thoughts remain with them."

Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty wrote on social media that his "thoughts were with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time" and he urged people to "refrain from speculation online".

He said he was "liaising with senior officers at Gold Command who are treating this as a critical incident".

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The zoo houses crocodiles at its site near Huntingdon

Darryl Preston, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's police and crime commissioner, said he had been briefed by Chief Constable Simon Megicks.

"My thoughts go out to the family of the little boy involved in this truly horrific incident," he said.

"I can only begin to imagine the trauma those involved are going through."

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said an ambulance, a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance officer vehicle and Magpas Air Ambulance attended the scene.

"A child was transported by road to hospital for further care," they added.

A Magpas Air Ambulance spokesperson said a critical care team attended the incident at 13:42 and "treated one patient at the scene before taking them to hospital".

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A near neighbour of the zoo, who did not wish to be named, described hearing a "lot of sirens" then an air ambulance arriving.

He said the incident was "shocking".

Mike Annicelli, 52, who also lives close to the zoo, said he had previously visited the attraction.

He said there was a "raised platform" in the enclosure and estimated the crocodiles were about 15ft (4.5m) below. He said there was fencing along walkways which he estimated was around 4ft (1.2m) high.

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Members of the media are at the scene but police are no longer there.
According to its website, Johnsons of Old Hurst is a family-run farming business that now features a butchers, a farm shop, tea room, steakhouse and zoo.

It says it "houses over 100 fascinating animals" including crocodiles, African lions and a Bengal tiger.

The crocodiles are kept in a converted cattle barn, which has metal-fenced elevated walkways looking down on large pools of water surrounded by tropical vegetation.
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The Tropical House enclosure where the crocodiles are housed remains closed until further notice, a spokesperson for the zoo said

Charlotte Lowe, who represents Old Hurst on Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, said she was "shocked" when she heard about the incident.

"To have something like this happen here is just incredulous," she said. "You don't expect this to happen in a rural village."

The enclosure had safety measures in place, she added, including Perspex glass and secure walkways, and the zoo was a popular attraction to visitors from all over the country.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young boy suffering in this," she added.

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The zoo is expected to reopen on Friday, although the Tropical House will be closed.
 
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This may be an unpopular take judging by X comments, but I'm all in on "mental health" that is a drooling moron out with his handlers on a day trip in the hopes that getting out a bit will curb his habitual psychotic aggression.

Yeah, this could very well be the case. There was that murderous autist who threw a toddler off the roof of the Tate a few years back.

Even if it was a sped, he reached for someone he could easily pick up and throw, so there's a degree of calculation there, however hard his mangled brain matter worked to make it.
 
Welcome to a country that shut its lunatic asylums down around 40 years ago because bleeding heart liberals were uncomfortable at the idea of locking up lunatics to prevent them from killing sane people.
America?

There was a coordinated effort across the west to bring that about, for no obvious reason other than it creates problems that can be used to blame whoever is in charge. Complete insanity.
 
This may be an unpopular take judging by X comments, but I'm all in on "mental health" that is a drooling moron out with his handlers on a day trip in the hopes that getting out a bit will curb his habitual psychotic aggression.
Daily Mail just confirmed it.

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The attacker was a 'mentally disabled' man who was at the zoo on an organised day out from his home with a carer, according to some reports.
 
Not sure about America, I was taking about Britbongland.
The same thing happened in the states. Their democrats legislated to have asylums shut down in exchange for implementing a "care in the community" programme, which they then reneged on afterwards. Reagan shouldered the blame for the subsequent fallout.
 
Why the fuck doesn't the article explicitly say what the man did to the kid? It took me a damn minute to realize it meant "had chucked him in".
 
Welcome to a country that shut its lunatic asylums down around 40 years ago because bleeding heart liberals were uncomfortable at the idea of locking up lunatics to prevent them from killing sane people.
It's the same in every Western country.
The version you hear from the Left is "Those mean Conservatives shut the hospitals down to save money!"
 
Shutting down asylums was a bipartisan effort. The justification was: (1) asylums really were pretty bad; (2) shutting them down saved a lot of money; (3) new psychiatric medications made "care in the community" look more feasible; (4) virtually all the experts thought it was a good idea.
 
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