Las Vegas police say they had no choice but to kill one chimpanzee and tranquilize another after the agitated animals got loose in northwest Las Vegas.
“They were acting aggressively,” Officer Laura Meltzer told msnbc.com on Thursday. “We had reports of two chimpanzees on the loose and one was pounding on a police car.”
Meltzer said the chimps, a male and female, were very large. She said the male chimpanzee weighed at least 170 pounds.
Meltzer said the male chimpanzee was heading into an area where residents, including children, had come outside to watch the commotion in a neighborhood in the northwest valley.
She said calls to police started to come in after 10:13 a.m. "We're still trying to determine where they came from and where they were housed," Meltzer said.
By noon, one chimpanzee was shot by police and the second recaptured and later tranquilized, KTNV reported.
“The chimpanzee situation is now under control. Streets remain closed at this time while officers continue to investigate this incident,” theLas Vegas Metro Police Department posted on its Twitter feed.
Police warned residents in the area to stay inside, and urged motorists to stay away during the chase.
To read more about this story at MSNBC, CLICK HERE.
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