A 25-year-old man was arrested Friday after he trespassed into an elephant exhibit at the San Diego Zoo with his 2-year-old daughter.
According to police, Jose Navarrete carried his daughter through two fences, including one electrical fence, to get “well inside” the Asian and African elephants exhibit.
The incident happened shortly after 4 p.m.
According to KTLA sister station KSWB in San Diego, zoo officials said the father “purposely and illegally trespassed."
One of the elephants in the enclosure became upset and charged at them, the San Diego Police Department noted. When Navarrete saw the animals reaction, he fled the exhibit and dropped his daughter as he made his way out.
“San Diego Zoo security promptly responded to the incident, but the guests had already exited the habitat,” zoo officials said in a news release.
Neither the elephants, nor Navarrete and his daughter were injured.
Witnesses told the outlet it appeared the man wanted to take a picture inside the enclosure.
“You hear this woman yelling, ‘Jose, stop. Jose, stop,’” witness Lori Ortale said. “And he jumps the fence and then he goes through the elephant enclosure, and he’s got his little girl with him who, I don’t know, had to be under 2.”
“These guys right away were saying, ‘That elephant is going to charge,’ and it did,” Ortale added.
“We told him to get out and he turned around and he saw it, thankfully, just in time,” Jake Ortale explained.
“He runs, throws his baby through the gate and it’s seconds from hitting him. He jumps through the gate, falls on the ground and then it roared. … The baby starts crying and people were just mad at this guy,” he noted.
Navarrete was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and entering an animal enclosure. ABC reported that per jail records, he’s being held on $100,000 bail.
The child reportedly went home with her mother, Officer Tony Martinez told City News Service.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram