Heart-stopping moment a four-year-old boy falls 12 feet into US zoo enclosure and is grabbed and dragged by 400lb gorilla for 10 minutes as horrified visitors watch - before the animal is shot dead

A zoo shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla that grabbed and dragged a four-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit moat on Saturday afternoon, the Cincinnati Zoo's director said.

Authorities said the boy, who fell 10 to 12 feet, is expected to recover after being picked up out of the moat and dragged by the 400-pound male, lowland gorilla named Harambe.

The boy was in the moat for about 10 minutes and was in between the gorilla's legs when the gorilla was shot, according to WLWT.

While zoo officials are still investigating, they believe the boy crawled through a railing barrier, and then fell into the moat.
Cincinnati Zoo staff shot and killed the 17-year-old, 400lb gorilla after it manhandled a young child who crawled into its enclosure. A terrifying video showed the monstrous animal playing with the boy but more graphic footage - in which it dragged him underwater - could not be shown. The child fell between ten to 12ft into the moat, where he remained with the gorilla for at least ten minutes. Three gorillas - the male and two females - were in the enclosure at the time but the male, Harmabe, refused to come out when called by zoo workers. The boy, who has not been named, was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with serious injuries.