TERRIFYING

Los Angeles Officials Kill Mountain Lion After It Mauls 5-Year-Old

The mountain lion attacked the child on his front yard, officials said Saturday.

Los Angeles wildlife officials killed a mountain lion that mauled a 5-year-old boy, authorities said Saturday. The boy was on his front lawn in a neighborhood in the Santa Monica mountains when the lion attacked him, the Los Angeles Times reported, leading his parents to fight it off and transport him to a nearby children’s hospital. Authorities later killed the lion after DNA testing from the boy’s shirt confirmed it was the culprit. “Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site,” wildlife officials said. They also captured its sibling, though they later released it when DNA testing confirmed it was not responsible. The incident is the first mountain lion attack on a human in Los Angeles County in more than 25 years, KTLA reported.