This past week, a gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo was killed by staff members after a child entered the enclosure.

Somehow, a 4-year-old slipped through the barriers on Saturday at the Cincinnati Zoo and proceeded to be dragged around by a silverback gorilla.

In videos posted on Twitter, a woman can be heard yelling to the boy, "I'm right here, Mommy loves you!"

Witnesses stated after about 10 minutes, workers shot and killed the animal, named Harambe. The boy was taken to a hospital and noted as not severely hurt.

A mom also at the zoo noted that out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the boy sitting on the wrong side of the barriers and reached for him, but it was too late. He had fallen around 10 feet into a shallow moat, where the gorilla noticed him and grabbed him.

Harambe, the teenage western lowland gorilla seemed to not want to hurt the boy, but also had a protective posture when first noticing the boy. However, he then proceeded to dart across the moat and drag the child by the arm like a toy.

The zoo stated that the use of lethal force had been a difficult decision. A tranquilizer would have taken several minutes to take effect, prolonging the risk of the boy.

The breach raised several questions about how easy it was for the boy to get in the hands of the animal. The zoo's director did not return messages to the New York Times seeking additional comments.