Zoo tiger jumps moat kills visitor

December 26, 2007

A tiger from the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its cage and ran into a nearby cafe killing one man and injuring two others.

All of the victims were visitors to the zoo, a spokesman for San Francisco emergency services said.

It is not clear how the tiger, which was shot dead during the rampage, escaped from its pen.

The incident occurred in a cafe as the zoo was closing at around 5 pm.

Emergency services spokesman Lt Ken Smith said that they were called to the zoo at 5:15 pm following a report that a person had been attacked by a tiger.

In response the zoo was evacuated and armed police officers and firefighters sent to the scene.

Police shot the tiger as it was mauling one of the victims who survived, Lt Smith said.

The two injured people were described by Lt Smith as being in a critical condition.

The three victims were men in their 20s who were together at the zoo, San Francisco Police spokesman Steve Mannina said.

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