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U.S. NEWS Friday 8 September 2017

Police shoot and kill tiger that wandered on busy interstate

By JEFF MARTIN subdivision, where it be-
Associated Press gan chasing a dog, police
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia said.
police shot and killed a The tiger jumped on the
Bengal tiger on Wednes- dog — a Dachshund
day after it escaped from named Journey, its owner
a truck and wandered Brittney Speck told The At-
along a major interstate lanta Journal-Constitution
near Atlanta, frightening . The dog survived the at-
residents of a nearby sub- tack and is OK, she said.
division. The cat was shot after it
Feld Entertainment “became aggressive to-
spokesman Stephen ward pets in the area,” the
Payne said Suzy, a 6-year- Georgia Department of
old Bengal tiger that had Natural Resources said in
once performed in the a statement late Wednes-
Ringling Bros. and Barnum day.
& Bailey Circus, some- Payne said he didn’t know
how got loose when the how the tiger managed to
truck hauling 14 big cats get free mid-way through
stopped south of Atlanta the trip to Tennessee, and In this Sunday, May 21, 2017 photo, big cat trainer Alexander Lacey hugs one of the tigers during
on its way from Florida to didn’t have many details the final show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Uniondale, N.Y. On Wednesday,
Tennessee. of its encounter with po- Sept. 6, 2017, officials said a Bengal tiger owned by Lacey was shot and killed after it escaped
“We stopped in Georgia lice. from a truck in Georgia on its way from Florida to Tennessee.
to feed and water the The driver did not realize (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
cats and for a quick rest one of the animals had ter it was killed, a Feld En- Bros. and Barnum & Bailey animal rights activists who
break for the driver, and gotten loose during the tertainment employee Circus ended its storied his- objected to having ani-
that’s where we believe night until the truck arrived reached out to authori- tory with a final show at the mals travel around the na-
the animal escaped and in Tennessee, he said. ties in Georgia to let them Nassau County Coliseum tion and perform.
was later confronted by But early Wednesday know they were missing a in Uniondale, New York. The circus removed el-
law enforcement,” Payne morning, neither police tiger, state officials said. The performance was Lac- ephants from its shows in
said. nor anyone in the neigh- The remaining 13 cats ey’s last big-cat act with 2016.
Suzy was headed back borhood knew where the were to be transported to the Florida-based circus. When it closed for good
to its European owner, cat had come from — or Germany. Its parent company, Feld the circus cited citing
animal handler Alexander how it ended up in metro- “I believe they will be join- Entertainment, decided to high operating costs and
Lacey, after the circus this politan Atlanta. ing another circus,” Payne end the circus billed as the declining attendance as
year ended its 146-year After seeing news reports said. Greatest Show on Earth fewer fans came to shows
run, Payne said. about the tiger hours af- In September, the Ringling after years of pressure by with no elephants.q
“They’ve been raised
around people their en-
tire lives, so they’re com- FBI: 1 hurt as pipe bomb explodes at Indiana post office
fortable around people,”
Payne said. EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) mains open and active,” ening. The Porter County’s bomb
Motorists spotted the ti- — A postal worker was in- the agency said in a state- FBI spokeswoman Chris- squad responded with a
ger early Wednesday jured when a pipe bomb ment, urging the public to tine Bavender said no ad- bomb disposal robot.
along Interstate 75 in exploded at a post office come forward with tips. ditional information will be K-9 units from the Lake
Stockbridge, southeast in northwestern Indiana, The FBI said it was “still try- released “at the present County Sheriff’s Depart-
of Atlanta, Henry County and the FBI said Thursday ing to ascertain if there are time,” but that the public ment were at the scene.
police said. The interstate it is investigating whether any terrorism links” to the is encouraged to contact A roadway near the post
was jammed with traffic it was an act of terrorism. blast. the agency with any infor- office was blocked off as
as people flee Hurricane The investigation into the East Chicago Fire Chief mation on the explosion. authorities investigated.
Irma that could hit Florida explosion Wednesday Anthony Serna said the Local law enforcement East Chicago is about 20
or the Gulf Coast. around 6 p.m. at the fa- female postal worker’s in- also assisted in the investi- miles (30 kilometers) south-
The cat ended up in a cility in East Chicago “re- juries were not life-threat- gation. east of Chicago.q