VIDEO — ‘Scary and Dangerous’: Mississippi Mom Says She Fatally Shot Missing Lab Monkey

A brave mother said she fatally shot one of the monkeys authorities have been looking for after they escaped an overturned truck in Mississippi.

The shooting incident happened on Sunday when 35-year-old  Jessica Bond Ferguson’s teenage son told her a monkey was outside on their property, which is located near Heidelberg, Fox News reported Monday.

The Rhesus monkey, which was among 21 monkeys being transported prior to the crash, had escaped from the overturned truck Tuesday along Interstate 59.

When one of the escaped monkeys showed up in her yard, Bond Ferguson, who is a mother of five children and a professional chef, took action to protect her family.

She told reporters she grabbed her phone and firearm, went outside, and saw the animal about 60 feet away.

“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children. I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell,” she recalled.

Prior to confronting the animal, she called police and they told her to monitor it. But she was worried it would get away and could potentially hurt other children in her area. If that had happened, Bond Ferguson said it would have made her feel terrible.

“If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me. It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards,” she stated.

When speaking to reporters about the incident, Bond Ferguson said she was initially confused because the monkey appeared not to have any fear and stared at her.

In a social media post early Sunday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said a homeowner near Heidelberg found one of the monkeys on their property, adding that officials responded to the scene and “the monkey is now in their possession.” The agency did not give further details.

Tulane University said 13 monkeys were located near the overturned trick and taken to their destination. Five died as a result of the search, and three were missing until the homeowner found one on Sunday, per the Fox article.

“The monkeys were housed at the Tulane National Primate Research Center in New Orleans, which supplies primates to scientific research organizations. In a statement, Tulane clarified that the animals were not owned by the university, nor were they being transported by university personnel,” the outlet said.

Video footage shows the monkeys sitting in the grass at the crash site near boxes that read “LIVE ANIMALS.”

Although initial reports said the animals were dangerous and may have been carrying diseases, authorities eventually confirmed they were pathogen-free; however, they were still considered a threat because they are known to be aggressive creatures.

Two monkeys are still missing, per the Fox article.