Fearing for her children’s safety, Mississippi woman shoots and kills escaped research monkey

A Mississippi woman shot and killed an escaped research monkey on Sunday, fearing for her children's safety. Jessica Bond was alerted by her son who saw a monkey in their yard near Heidelberg. Bond, armed with a firearm, encountered the monkey approximately 60 feet away. She stated that residents had been warned about potential diseases carried by the monkeys and fired her weapon twice, resulting in the monkey's death. The incident occurred after a truck carrying 21 research monkeys overturned on Interstate 59 near Heidelberg earlier in the week. Most of the monkeys were reportedly killed in the crash. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a homeowner found one of the monkeys on their property and that the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the animal. The monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans. Tulane clarified that the monkeys did not belong to them and were not being transported by the university. While initial rep... download the app to read more