A stray monkey attacked multiple people, including children, in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk on Wednesday.
Upon being noticed by local residents, the medium-sized animal was minding its own business and behaving calmly, footage circulating online suggests. However, after being harassed by several people and dogs, the monkey ultimately became agitated.
A local woman confronted the monkey in an attempt to hand it over to police. The woman told local media she followed it for a while but ended up being bitten and calling the cops.
“We were allowed to lead it to some shop, they gave us a tomato, I tried to lure it, and it attacked. I called the police again, they said they were on their way. Then the monkey bit a 10-year-old boy and a girl. The parents of the girl tried to catch the monkey, it rushed at the man, he kicked it in the face,” the woman told local media.
Following the altercation, the monkey reportedly barged into a local dentistry, escaping the clinic through a window.
So far, all efforts to catch the monkey have failed, with local police urging locals to alert them of the animal’s whereabouts but to avoid further attempts to subdue it.