A Bengal tiger was shot and killed early Wednesday morning after attacking a dog in an Atlanta neighborhood, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
WXIA-TV reported that Henry County police received multiple reports around 6 a.m. Wednesday that a tiger was loose near an overpass on Interstate 75.
In a statement provided to WXIA, police said, "Henry County officers responded, locating the tiger and kept visual sight of it while animal professionals were contacted. The tiger began to run toward the Meadow Brook community off of Jodeco Road, to the back of a residence and began to attack a dog."
Police shot and killed the tiger.
"With the tiger in close proximity to a school bus route in a densely populated area, officers made the decision to put the animal down with gunfire fearing that occupants of the home could be in danger as well as others in the area," the statement said.
Brittney Speck, the owner of the dog attacked by the tiger, told the Journal-Constitution she was woken up by flashing police lights and the sound of her dog “going crazy in the backyard.”
She looked out her window to check on her Dachshund, Journey, and saw a tiger in her neighbor’s yard. She called 911, but officers were already nearby. Soon, the tiger jumped on her dog.
“And the officers I guess just started firing rounds and took it down, and then gave me my dog back,” Speck said.
She said that her dog is OK, and she was thankful her three young children were inside at the time.
“It was like a full-grown zoo tiger,” Speck said of the incident.
The tiger’s origin remains unclear.
Zoo Atlanta officials as well as staff at the Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary, a local animal shelter, both said that all of their tigers are accounted for. The Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary posted on Facebook that police had contacted them about bringing them the tiger before they determined that it was a risk to human life.
Gerri Yoder, Henry County’s animal control director, told the Journal-Constitution that she has “no idea where [the tiger] belonged.”
“There are a lot of theories, but who knows?” Yoder said, adding that the tiger could have been “a victim of the exotic pet trade” and “born and bred for the purpose of resale.”
Yoder noted that tigers “are not illegal to own with the proper permitting.”
The Journal-Constitution reported that the incident is under investigation by Henry County Police, Henry County Animal Control, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
