An Oklahoma woman is recovering after she was attacked by a neighbor’s pet monkey.
The Dickson Police Department (DPD) said in a statement that the victim was attacked just after 6 pm on Sunday in the Oakview and Grandview areas.
The woman, Brittany Parker, said she was outside her home when the attack began, according to FOX affiliate KOKH-TV and local station KTEN.
“He started grabbing handfuls of hair and just ripped it out,” Parker told KOH-TV. “He ripped my ear almost completely off my head.”
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Authorities said in their statement that a family member of the victim “shot and killed the primate” while officers were searching for the monkey, which ran away after attacking Parker. The animal’s owners, whom the police were able to locate, also attempted “to capture the primate but were unsuccessful,” police said.
“It was all very scary,” Parker told KOKH-TV.
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Parker said he was sitting inside when he first spotted the monkey out a window, the outlet reported. When she noticed the monkey was trying to get inside she called the police. “I was literally hanging onto my door trying to hold it closed,” she said.
When the officers arrived at the scene, the monkey jumped on the back of their truck before attacking the woman, the police said in a statement.
After the monkey ran off, Parker called his beloved one who later shot and killed the animal, according to KTEN. When he arrived at the scene, the man got “slapped” across the face by the monkey and had his hair pulled, Parker told the outlet.
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Parker was first transported to Mercy Hospital in Ardmore before he was transferred to OU Medical in Oklahoma City, according to the DPD.
She was released on Monday after receiving stitches, per KTEN’s report.
Parker told KOKH-TV that she needs plastic surgery.
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Because primates are considered domesticated animals in Oklahoma, it is legal to own a monkey as a pet, according to KTEN.
Due to the extent of Parker’s injury, the police chief told CBS affiliate KXII they’ll send the case report to the district attorney’s office, who will “make the final decision on what they want to do.”
An investigation is ongoing, the DPD said.