Prosecutors make right choice in tragic zoo incident

It was a no-win situation for everyone involved in the shooting of a rare gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 3-year-old fell into the animal's enclosure.

Fortunately, the local prosecutor didn't yield to mob rule and file charges against the mother in response to internet outcry.

The mother, a daycare worker was momentarily distracted by three other children, ages 1 to 7, after the boy said he was going to jump into the moat.

"If anyone doesn't believe a 3-year-old can scamper off very quickly they've never had kids," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, "because they can. And they do."

After the boy climbed over a 3-foot barrier and made his way through bushes and fell 15 feet into a shallow moat.

The zoo's dangerous-animal response team shot the agitated, 17-year-old gorilla, Harambe, after concluding the boy's life was in danger.

Some of the short video clips didn't tell the whole story, showing the massive animal dragging the young boy around the rocks. The whole video, however, showed an agitated animal displaying aggressive behavior and reinforcing the decision to kill the gorilla.

The enclosure met or exceeded standards, and there had been no previous breaches in the zoo's 38-year history, but the enclosure was enlarged and reinforced before the exhibit was reopened today.

The prosecutor defended the boy's mother as attentive and undeserving of criticism.

"If she had been in the bathroom smoking crack, that would be a different story. But that's not what happened here," he said.

There will likely be legal action against someone -- the zoo, the parents? -- but we hope the matter ends now.

Accidents happen and harsh action sometimes has to be taken, but in the end, officials made the right choice: the life of an animal sacrificed to save the life of a child.