Mom of boy who fell into gorilla enclosure defends parenting
The mother of the four-year-old boy who fell
into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, forcing officials to kill the
animal, has defended her parenting.
Michelle Gregg has come under fire after her son crawled under a rail and through wires, before falling 3.5-metres into a moat – forcing officials to fatally shoot a silverback gorilla named Harambe.
While the gorilla did not appear to be attacking the boy, zoo officials were forced to put it down for fear the 400-pound animal could injure the child.
Eyewitnesses claim Harambe, who had turned 17 a day before the incident, was not aggressive towards the child, and in fact appeared to be protecting the boy from the frantic crowd.
Gregg took to Facebook to talk about the scary situation.
“What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one…God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes …no broken bones or internal injuries,” she said in a lengthy post.
Gregg also responded to the criticism she has been receiving following the incident.
“As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen but I am thankful the right people were in the right place.”
Animal activists and members of the public are calling for Gregg, and the father of her four children, Deon Dickerson, to be charged.
Some have put the blame on zoo officials, questioning why the enclosure did not have a secondary barrier between the animal and visitors.
The mother Michelle has four children by the father, a man who, Daily Mail Online can disclose has a lengthy criminal history, including burglary, firearms offences, drug trafficking, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and kidnap.
Source - Daily Mail Online