Escaped Camel Kills Two Men in Tennessee

By Tim Binnall

In a bizarre story out of Tennessee, a crazed camel managed to escape from a petting zoo and, in the ensuing chaos, killed two unfortunate men who came across the rampaging creature. The unfortunate incident reportedly occurred last Thursday afternoon at a location known as Shirley Farms in the community of Obion. Although the circumstances surrounding how the event began are uncertain at this time, the local sheriff's office indicated that their involvement began when they received a call about a loose camel in the area that was "attacking people."

Upon arriving on the scene, deputies found "two unconscious victims on the ground" who were being aided by officers from multiple area police departments while the camel remained "still on the loose." The unruly ungulate had not gone very far, cops say, as the creature soon "attacked an Obion County Sheriff's Office vehicle" and then made an aggressive move "towards deputies who were attempting to move a victim to EMS." Sensing the potential for further injuries resulting from the rampaging animal, deputies quickly decided to "put the camel down for the safety of everyone on scene."

The two men who fell victim to the creature were later identified as Bobby Matheny and Tommy Gunn. While the exact nature of their injuries has not been specified, authorities say that the two individuals were "pronounced dead on scene" as a result of the attack. How the camel wound up escaping from the zoo and why it subsequently went berserk is unknown, though one presumes that a full investigation is underway considering the carnage that the creature caused.