Police in Sparta, New Jersey, were forced to shoot and kill an aggressive bull after officials say the animal attacked its owner before charging at a patrol car.
Officers responding to a report of bull approaching vehicles near a home in Sussex County on Friday found a woman who had been attacked as she backed out of her driveway, according to Sparta Police Department Lt. John Lamon.
“We had reports that people were rolling down their windows and trying to pet it the cow. But a lot of people don’t know there’s a little difference between a cow and a bull,” he told News 12.
Wendy McDermott, 47, was taken to the hospital with head injuries, where she received more than 40 stitches.
“When you’re dealing with an animal that’s 11, 1,200 pounds, all they have to do is just strike you with their body and they can cause serious injury, if not fatal,” Lamon added.
McDermott lured the bull up the driveway with food, with officers behind her, but the bull tried to mount her car.
“One minute they look like they’re pretty docile, the next minute they’re very aggressive,” Lamon explained.
At the top of the driveway outside view of the police dashcam camera, the bull began attacking McDermott and police said she screamed at them to kill it.
When the bull charged a sergeant’s patrol vehicle, the sergeant and another officer fired multiple times with a shotgun and handgun.
“They were a little shaken up, it’s something that you really don’t plan on encountering, but when it does happen you have to act fast, you have to act decisively,” Lamon said.
It’s not clear how the bull escaped and or why it became aggressive.
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