Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says the Cincinnati Zoo had little choice but to kill a 17-year-old gorilla after a boy got into its exhibit.

Trump was asked about the gorilla during a news conference Tuesday in New York. He referred to videos showing the animal at times appearing protective of the child, who got away from his mother Saturday and entered the gorilla’s enclosure.

Trump says watching the gorilla with the boy was “almost like a mother holding a baby.” But Trump noted that video also showed the gorilla dragging the boy through a shallow moat.

Trump acknowledged that it was “a very tough call” but says the zoo had little choice because the child’s life was at stake.

The boy’s family says he’s doing fine.

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