The family of William Chapman, 23, who died after being attacked by a tiger at a wildlife park in Yorkshire, have released a statement asking people to stop circulating videos of their son online, saying it is causing them 'severe distress'.
Family calls for end to video sharing
William Chapman was declared dead at the scene after he climbed into an enclosure and was attacked by a tiger called Altai. Since the incident, videos have been circulating online showing the animal pawing and mouthing at him before the attack.
Part of the family's statement reads: "The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this."
President shares content on social media
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, ITV correspondent Katy Rickitt detailed content shared by President Donald Trump, reports the Mirror.
Katy Rickitt said: "A video emerged from William's own social media platform yesterday of him entering the tiger enclosure, and his account was shut down." She added: "More distressing, and we're not showing any of these videos out of respect for the family, are videos of actually what happened. The tiger pawing and mouthing at him before the attack. That has been shared by no other than the President of the United States on his own socials."
The ITV correspondent revealed that Donald Trump has also posted an AI-generated video of himself in the enclosure running around with the tiger.
Family describes son as 'bright, warm and engaging'
Rickitt went on: "That must be extremely distressing for the family, who have asked people not to share these videos. They've asked for the process to happen here; we know that there's a health and safety investigation in the park, which is yet to open."
Good Morning Britain viewers were told that the wildlife park has confirmed the tiger will not be put down following the incident. Rickitt concluded: "Everything that emerges here just points to a very sad, a very tragic, and deeply distressing situation."
The statement from William's relatives revealed that he had battled 'significant mental illness' over the years and was on strong medication. They explained that it will be down to the coroner to determine what role this played in his death.
Describing their son as 'bright, warm and engaging', they said they were 'utterly devastated' by their loss and are 'struggling to come to terms with what has happened'.
The statement concluded: "The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did. In the meantime, please do not approach the family, their addresses, or scrape any further social media from William's or his family's accounts."
