Reuters
London: A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in central England on Thursday, resulting in him sustaining critical injuries, police said.
Cambridgeshire Police said officers were called following reports of an incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a zoo near Huntingdon, which resulted in the boy being in the enclosure.
The child was taken to hospital with serious injuries and is in a critical but stable condition, police said. A 30-year-old man had been arrested.
“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,” said Detective Inspector Verity McCann.
“We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.”
The London Telegraph reported that the child had been thrown into the enclosure, and quoted a witness as saying zoo staff may have saved the boy’s life.
According to The Sun newspaper, the zoo owner’s wife, Tracey Johnson, jumped into the enclosure to help the child.
Images of the attraction showed a raised walkway several metres above the open crocodile pool, surrounded by metre-high fencing.
The zoo’s website lists saltwater crocodiles, Nile crocodiles, American alligators and spectacled caimans among other crocodilians in its collection.
A spokesperson for Johnsons of Old Hurst said its thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family, and the zoo’s Tropical House would remain closed until further notice.
Local MP Ben Obese-Jecty said his thoughts were with the victim and his family during a “hugely traumatic and difficult time”.
“This is now a live criminal investigation, and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online. The police will provide an update with further information in due course.”
According to its website, Johnsons of Old Hurst is a family farming business run by Andy Johnson, featuring a butcher, a farm shop, a tearoom, a steakhouse, and the zoo.
A blog post on the zoo’s website says the crocodiles were initially kept to dispose of waste meat from the butcher, but became a zoo attraction.
“As time went on, the crocodilian numbers grew, and eventually the Johnsons were told that if they wanted to continue to house the crocodiles, they must apply for a zoo licence – and that’s exactly what they did,” the post says.
Reuters, AP
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