A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured when allegedly thrown into a zoo's crocodile enclosure has been released on bail and assessed as 'not being fit for interview'.
Cambridgeshire Police said the 30-year-old man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview by officers and has been bailed until September 18 while detectives from the major crimes unit conduct further inquiries.
The boy, from Cambridgeshire, remains at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in a critical but stable condition following the incident at Johnson’s of Old Hurst in Huntingdonshire yesterday (June 19).
Police Investigation Ongoing
Detective Inspector Verity McCann said: “Our inquiries are ongoing as we continue to understand the circumstances surrounding this distressing incident. Our thoughts remain with the boy and his family, and specialist officers continue to support them through this difficult time.”
Officers were called to the zoo at 1.24pm by the ambulance service to reports that a three-year-old boy had suffered serious injuries. The boy, who sustained serious injuries while in the enclosure, was pulled out by staff from the zoo and received medical treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Heroic Actions of Zoo Owner's Wife
The update comes after it was revealed this morning that the wife of the zoo owner jumped into the crocodile enclosure to try and save the boy yesterday. A villager, who did not want to be named, said that Tracey Johnson, who is married to the owner of the zoo, jumped in to try to save the child, the Mirror reports. And a local told The Sun: “Apparently, the wife of the zoo owner, Tracey Johnson, jumped in to the enclosure to save the child.”
Chris Newman, director of the national centre for reptile welfare, who has housed crocodiles at Old Hurst and spent time inside the enclosure there, said he knows Tracey "very well", and told BBC Radio 4 that her "incredibly heroic" actions were "what I'd expect from Tracey".
He said: “Oh I know Tracey very well, she is absolutely a lovely lady and I think we should recognise her actions as being incredibly heroic. But frankly it’s nothing short of what I would expect of her, that’s exactly what she would do, she is a very brave, very strong lady.”
He added: “That’s what I’d expect from Tracey, that’s what she is like as a person. I know it would be incredibly difficult. At the moment I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to the family directly. I messaged them yesterday to offer my best wishes. I don’t know which enclosure it was but it’s about a 15ft drop so for her to get into there that quickly and save the child really is just a remarkable act of bravery.”
