PICO RIVERA (CNS) - Sheriff's deputies helped to recapture 38 of 40 cows that escaped from a meat-packing plant in the Pico Rivera area and stampeded into a nearby neighborhood -- but one cow was still on the loose early this morning, and deputies were forced to kill another that had charged at a family of four, sending some of them to a hospital with minor injuries.
At about 7:36 p.m. Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Pico Rivera Station received a call of cows running loose on the city streets, the department said.
An open gate had allowed the cows to flee the meat-packing plant, according to a department statement.
The cows were on the loose for hours, roaming through residential neighborhoods and evading capture.
One of the cows charged a family of four, knocking some of them to the ground, the sheriff's department said. The family members were transported to a local hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.
But the cow was killed by a deputy.
“To protect the family from further injury, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed the animal,'' the department said.
No further injuries were reported.
The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department's Mounted Enforcement Detail was called in to assist with the roundup.
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