The prosecutor in the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla death case will announce on Monday, June 6, whether criminal charges will be pursued against the family of a boy who climbed into the animal’s enclosure.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters will hold a press conference to announce his office’s decision, WHIO reports.
Earlier this week, the Cincinnati Police Department completed its investigation of the tragic incident, which occurred on May 28.
As Us Weekly previously reported, a 4-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Ohio zoo, where he was picked up and dragged around by the 400-pound, 17-year-old western lowland gorilla named Harambe. The animal, which is an endangered species, was shot and killed by a zoo employee in order to protect the child.
The boy’s mother, Michelle Gregg, almost immediately became the target of critics, who accused her of not watching her son, therefore resulting in the death of the beloved gorilla.
Just hours after the incident, she defended herself in a now-deleted Facebook post, writing, “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.”
Despite backlash from animal activists and celebrities, Thane Maynard, the director of the Cincinnati Zoo, stood by the decision to kill Harambe. “Looking back, we’d make the same decision,” he stated during a news conference on May 30.
A new, higher barrier has since been installed at the zoo’s Gorilla World exhibit, which will reopen on Tuesday, June 7, the Journal-News reports.
