One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi highway was shot dead early Sunday morning by a woman who said she feared for the safety of her children.

Jessica Bond Ferguson She recounted that her 16-year-old son woke her up, thinking he saw a monkey running in the yard of their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. The woman grabbed her firearm and, upon spotting the animal about 18 meters away, opened fire. “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond, a mother of five children between the ages of 4 and 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot it, and it just stood there, so I shot again.” Authorities confirmed the discovery of the animal. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on social media that a homeowner found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fish and Parks took custody of the animal’s body. The rhesus monkeys were being transported from the Tulane University National Center for Biomedical Research in New Orleans. The institution clarified that the animals did not belong to the university and that the university was not responsible for their transport. A fatal accident on the highway. The accident that led to the escape occurred the previous Tuesday on Interstate 59, north of Heidelberg. According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, most of the 21 monkeys that were in the truck died, although three managed to escape. Videos recorded after the accident showed the animals moving through the grass next to wooden crates labeled "live animals," which were smashed by the impact. Although it was initially warned that the monkeys could be dangerous, Sheriff Randy Johnson clarified that specialists from Tulane determined that the animals were not contagious.

“The university confirmed that the specimens had undergone recent tests that ruled out the presence of pathogens,” Johnson stated. However, he acknowledged that their aggressive behavior justified their “neutralization” if they posed a threat.

A worrying precedent

Nearly a decade ago, three rhesus macaques from the same research center were euthanized following a biosecurity incident attributed to human error. Since then, Tulane has reviewed its protocols and strengthened staff training.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife noted that rhesus macaques are aggressive animals by nature and that specialists continue to collaborate in the search for any remaining at large.