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A mum-of-five turned real-life action hero when she shot dead an aggressive escaped monkey that had been terrorising her quiet neighbourhood. Jessica Bond Ferguson, 35, said she had “no choice” but to pull the trigger after spotting the animal lurking near her yard over the weekend just days after a truck carrying 21 lab monkeys overturned on a nearby highway. Residents in the neighbourhood Heidelberg, Mississippi in the US, had been on high alert all week, fearing the monkeys might be carrying dangerous diseases. Officials later confirmed the monkeys were disease-free - but that didn’t calm nerves in the small town. Early on Sunday morning, Jessica’s 16-year-old son burst through the door shouting that he’d seen one of the creatures outside. Without hesitation, the mum grabbed her gun and stormed out to protect her brood. She said: “I did what any other mother would do. I shot at it and it just stood there - so I shot again, and that’s when he fell.” With police and animal control nowhere in sight, Jessica took matters into her own hands. She added: "If it attacked somebody’s kid and I could’ve stopped it, that would’ve been a lot on me." Locals say the ordeal has left the town rattled and Jessica added: "“It’s scary and dangerous. People have kids playing in their yards.” The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys Sunday morning but offered few details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife has since taken control of the animal’s remains. The bizarre saga began when a truckload of rhesus monkeys from Tulane University’s biomedical research centre in New Orleans crashed on Interstate 59 on October 27. Authorities shared a Facebook post at the time, warning locals of "potential health threats". The post explained: "The driver of the truck told local law enforcement that the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans. "We took the appropriate actions after being given that information from the person transporting the monkeys. He also stated that you had to wear PPE equipment to handle the monkeys". According to official reports, the monkeys were being transported from Tulane University and were traveling to a non-Tulane-affiliated location. University authorities noted: "The primates in question belong to another entity". Of the 21 monkeys, 13 were quickly recovered, five died and three remained on the loose until Jessica’s dramatic showdown. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
