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Circus elephant injured in Miss. drive-by shooting
Pachyderm hit with bullet in shoulder by unknown shooter while in enclosure.

 

An Asian elephant with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey similar to this one was injured in a drive-by shooting in Tupelo, Miss., on Tuesday, April 9, 2013
.(Photo: Alex Brandon, AP)
Emily Le Coz, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger
April 9, 2013
TUPELO, Miss. — An elephant with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was injured in an early morning drive-by shooting Tuesday but is expected to make a full recovery.
The elephant, one of several performing with the traveling circus, was in an enclosure outside the BancorpSouth Arena when it was hit by a bullet in the shoulder, said the arena's marketing director, Kevan Kirkpatrick.
"We have had the circus once a year since 1995," Kirkpatrick said. "Absolutely this is the first elephant shooting we had."
A security guard on the scene was able to provide some information to the Tupelo Police Department, which is investigating, but "leads are pretty slim," said Tupelo Police Capt. Rusty Haynes. "We're dealing with a victim that can't talk."
The department has been in touch with state and federal wildlife authorities and, because the Asian elephant is an endangered species, the crime will be pursued as a federal offense under the Endangered Species Act, Haynes said.
read more:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/09/circus-elephant-drive-by-shooting/2066975/