'The boy only had minutes left': Woman who filmed boy falling into Harambe's enclosure says zoo was RIGHT to shoot gorilla dead 

  • Kim O'Connor filmed Isiah Dickerson in Harambe the gorilla's enclosure
  • She defended the zookeepers who shot the 400-pound silverback dead 
  • Three-year-old was just 'minutes from death', Ms O'Connor said 
  • She added that the gorilla became agitated by people screaming 
  • Woman also defended the boy's mother, who was at Cincinnati Zoo 

By Ollie Gillman For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:05 EST, 5 June 2016 | Updated: 23:00 EST, 5 June 2016

A woman who filmed Harambe dragging a three-year-old boy around a zoo enclosure has defended wardens who shot the gorilla dead.

Kim O'Connor, whose shocking footage of little Isiah Dickerson with the 400-pound silverback shocked millions around the world, said the child 'only had minutes left' when zookeepers opened fire.

The woman, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was taking a photograph of Harambe at Cincinnati Zoo when Isiah fell into the enclosure.

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Kim O'Connor, whose shocking footage of little Isiah Dickerson with the 400-pound silverback shocked millions around the world, said the child 'only had minutes left' when zookeepers opened fire

Kim O'Connor, whose shocking footage of little Isiah Dickerson with the 400-pound silverback shocked millions around the world, said the child 'only had minutes left' when zookeepers opened fire

Some people have criticized the zookeepers for shooting Harambe dead, saying the child was not in immediate danger

Some people have criticized the zookeepers for shooting Harambe dead, saying the child was not in immediate danger

She told WZZM 13 that she 'heard a splash' - and then everyone started screaming. 

'He [the gorilla] definitely responded to the noise of the crowd, because when we got the crowd to stop and be quiet he sat still longer, but the minute the volume went up and people really started yelling, the more he felt like he had to get that boy away,' Ms O'Connor said. 

'It was not a friendly, "I'm going to take him to the zoo keeper and let him go",' she said. 

'He was dragging him around like a doll and they had to do what they had to do, that boy only had minutes left, I know he only had minutes left.' 

Some people have criticized the zookeepers for shooting Harambe dead, saying the child was not in immediate danger.

But Ms O'Connor said the critics 'have opinions about something they know nothing about'. 

She also defended Isiah's mother, Michelle Gregg, who was with the boy when he fell into the enclosure.

Ms O'Connor said the boy was saying, 'I want to go in the monkeys, the gorillas, I want to go in', but his mother and told him not to.

Mother Michelle Gregg, 32 (right) and father Deonne Dickerson, 36 (left), said their three-year-old son Isiah (center) is 'doing well' as he continues to recover after falling into a gorilla enclosure

Mother Michelle Gregg, 32 (right) and father Deonne Dickerson, 36 (left), said their three-year-old son Isiah (center) is 'doing well' as he continues to recover after falling into a gorilla enclosure

The clip shows Harambe standing guard in the corner of the moat (pictured, with the boy behind Harambe)
Witnesses said the gorilla looked like he was trying to protect the boy from panicked bystanders (pictured)

The boy's mother told her she was taking a picture and Isiah's hand was in her back pocket when he suddenly disappeared, before emerging inside the enclosure 

She also did not blame the zoo for the incident. 

A new fence is being installed there ahead of the enclosure reopening, although it is still less than four-foot tall.

Prosecutors have recommended not pressing charges against the parents of the boy who fell into the enclosure.

The boy's family has said he is doing well at home after being treated at a hospital on Saturday evening. Police said he had scrapes to his head and knee.

'The child was alert and talking,' the police report stated.

Deidre Lykins, a woman who witnessed the dramatic incident unfold last Saturday, said Isiah 'flopped' over the metal and wire railing and crawled through the plants and shrubs before falling into the enclosure.

The boy's mother told her she was taking a picture and Isiah's hand was in her back pocket when he suddenly disappeared.

The child had allegedly said he wanted to go 'swimming' with the gorilla.

Despite Isiah being able to easily scale the fence and reach the enclosure, the zoo has insisted the barriers made it safe.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, a Cincinnati-based animal rights group, said it had filed a federal complaint against the zoo with the US Department of Agriculture.

Michael Budkie, from the group, said: 'If this enclosure had been constructed adequately a three-year-old child could not have penetrated it.

'This wasn't someone who came in with grappling hooks and ropes. You tell me. If a three-year-old child can get through the barrier is that a safe barrier?'

 

 

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