The mother of a four-year old boy who fell into an enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday, resulting in the shooting death of a beloved gorilla named Harambe, has spoken out for the first time.
And she’s sent a message to all who blame her for this controversial incident.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the child in question crawled through a barrier and fell into a moat.
Once there, he was picked up and dragged all around by the 400-pound, 17-year-old male gorilla.
Out of fear for the toddler’s safety, a zoo employee shot and killed the animal, sparking an intense debate over animal cruelty and irresponsible parenting.
Take a look at footage from the frightening situation below:
In response to critics who have accused her of not properly keeping an eye on her son, Michelle Gregg wrote the following on Facebook:
“I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today.
“What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one. For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell in the gorilla exhibit at the zoo.
“God protected my child until the authorities were able to get him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes…no broken bones or internal injuries.”
Gregg has since deleted this post, but added at the time it was written:
“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 that the right people were in the right place today.
“Thank you to everyone that helped me and my son today and most importantly God for being the awsome [sic] God that He is.”
Having come under some fire itself, The Cincinnati Zoo also released a statement via Facebook on Saturday, defending its decision to kill the gorilla.
“We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our Dangerous Animal Response Team,” park director Thane Maynard wrote in the note.
He added that “tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger.”