A young boy fell into an African painted dog exhibit at a Pittsburgh zoo and was mauled to death by the wild animals, zoo officials said.
The child, about 3 years old, was with his mother visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium when he somehow fell from a 14-foot-high observation deck into the exhibit at about 11:45 a.m. He was immediately attacked by several dogs and died, zoo President and CEO Barbara Baker said.
"The screams just kept coming and coming: 'Someone help. Someone has to do something,'" Angela Cinti, 20, of Bethel Park, who was visiting the zoo with her boyfriend, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
I just read the full story. It's the mother's fault, without a doubt. Several people who have been to the exhibit posted in the comments that the rail was AT LEAST chest high, meaning 4'+. Clearly you are not meant to lift your child up on it. That's just stupid. It's sad that an innocent child lost their life to stupidity. Also, one of the dogs were shot.
The mother lifted him up onto a fairly large wall (at least 4' tall) on a platform that is above the display (if I remember correctly), and he was too far into it and fell in. They aren't sure if he died from the fall or the attack.
Sad to hear such a tragedy but it's the parents fault for not being totally aware of her son or have the knowledge to not lift him up when anything terrible could happen .
RIP the poor boy.
