Crime & Safety
Watch: Bull Runs Through Brooklyn, Captured in Prospect Park
Police have the bull in custody after a two-hour chase that ended in Prospect Park.
BROOKLYN, NY — A rogue bull ran through parts of south Brooklyn and Prospect Park on Tuesday before being corralled inside a soccer field in Prospect Park, where officers shot it with a tranquilizer gun and took it into custody.
It's unclear how the animal got loose, but Brooklynites reported seeing it at various locations around the southwest Prospect Park-area starting before noon.
The bull was eventually trapped by officers at the soccer field and hit by a tranquilizer dart, and authorities waited about 20 minutes after shooting it to load it into a truck.
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ABC7 streamed live from the Prospect Park Parade Ground, where the bull was running around inside of a soccer field. A couple of officers were inside, while a large crowd gathered along parts of the fence:
The bull (which was initially mistakenly identified as a cow) was first spotted running around in the South Slope area shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday morning:
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Just saw a COW bolting up 17th St in S. Slope. On the sidewalk. In case I thought there was nothing new to be seen after a lifetime in NYC.
— RosieSchaapofHorrors (@rosieschaap) October 17, 2017
It apparently headed south and was seen next running through Windsor Terrace and Kensington:
Brooklyn: Breaking: @NYPD70pct @NYPDSpecialOps Chasing A Loose Cow On Coney Island Ave.
— Top Local Buff (@TopLocalBuff) October 17, 2017
One reader sent us this photo of the animal, near Prospect Avenue and Terrace Place. (It's small in the photo, but you can see the bull in the crosswalk in the middle of the frame):
Helicopters could be heard flying around the surrounding areas as news crews rushed to bring live coverage of the loose animal to the broader public.
By noon, the bull ended up corralled inside of a soccer field at the Prospect Park Parade Ground, just south of the park.
Elizabeth Nolan, 50, works in the area and came over when a friend told her a bull had escaped.
"Usually the helicopters are for crimes committed nearby. I was so surprised when it was a bull," she told Patch. "He likes the freedom and the sun," she added.
Danny Gottlieb, 30, said he randomly called in sick from his job at an ad agency Tuesday.
"I walked outside, and there was a cow, it was weird," he said. "It was exciting at first, now it's boring," he added, but said it was "more exciting than sitting at a computer."
Like any good animal-loose-in-New-York story, the Brooklyn cow gained fans around the city who admired its stubborn spirit.
You can stand this cow up at the gates of hell https://t.co/GdxEe80ZFr
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 17, 2017
this is brooklyn of course he's not backing down https://t.co/YlR069yHJ4
— Amanda Skull (@amandamull) October 17, 2017
The NYC Parks Department got in on the joke, too:
Hey, has anyone seen a cow?
— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) October 17, 2017
Authorities cornered the animal using soccer goals, a row of benches and a police van to contain it in a smaller area of the field. Around 1 p.m., the tranquilizer was fired and hit the bull.
The bull paced around for about 20 minutes after being hit by the weapon. At one point, it ran around the area and nearly charged a cop.
Here's the bull - who had been tranquilized! - charging at an NYPD officer pic.twitter.com/GWknn4Rqx6
— Kathleen Culliton (@K_Culliton) October 17, 2017
But the bull was eventually lassoed and put into the truck.
Mary Beth Bartz, 57, lives nearby and contacted Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue in Wantagh, New Jersey. She said the NYPD agreed to let the sanctuary have the bull.
"It will have a good life," she told Patch.
Lead photo by Kathleen Culliton, Patch Staff; Kathleen Culliton contributed reporting
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