The incident happened at Johnsons Zoo in Cambridgeshire on Thursday

A man who was arrested after a three-year-old boy was thrown into a crocodile enclosure has been released on bail.

The toddler remains in a critical condition after the incident at a zoo in Cambridgeshire.

Police arrested a 30-year-old man from Norfolk on suspicion of attempted murder. He was released on bail after being assessed as not being fit for interview.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said officers were called by the ambulance service to Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo near Huntingdon at 1.24pm on Thursday after a three-year-old boy suffered serious injuries.

Man suspected of throwing toddler to crocodiles released

Zoo owner's wife leapt into croc pit to save boy

A three-year-old boy is fighting to recover after a horrifying incident at a Cambridgeshire zoo that saw him end up inside a crocodile enclosure — and a dramatic rescue by the zoo owner’s wife has now emerged.

Emergency services raced to Johnson’s of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire on Thursday after reports that a young child had entered the crocodile enclosure. The boy suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital, while police launched a major investigation into the shocking incident.

As questions swirl over exactly what happened, a former zoo worker has hailed the actions of Tracey Johnson, the wife of zoo owner Andy Johnson, describing her response as nothing short of heroic.

Chris Newman, who previously housed crocodiles at the zoo and knows Ms Johnson well, said she jumped around 15ft into the enclosure to help rescue the child. He praised what he called a “remarkable act of bravery”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Newman said Ms Johnson was “a lovely lady” and that her actions should be recognised as “incredibly heroic”.

He added that her courage came as no surprise to those who know her. “That's exactly what she would do,” he said. “She's a very brave, very strong lady.”

The dramatic rescue unfolded after emergency services were called to the zoo at around 1.24pm on Thursday. An ambulance, rapid response vehicle, ambulance officer vehicle and air ambulance all attended the scene.

Police later confirmed that zoo staff pulled the child from the enclosure.

Mr Newman explained that if a child fell or was thrown into the crocodile area, there was likely a drop of around 15ft. He said a fall from that height alone could cause significant injuries to a young child.

He also described how crocodiles typically react to unexpected objects entering their territory. According to Mr Newman, if something lands close to a crocodile, its immediate reaction may be to snap or bite as part of its natural behaviour.

He said that if the boy landed near one of the reptiles, an “investigatory bite” could be expected. However, it remains unclear whether the child was bitten by a crocodile during the incident.

Reports from The Sun and the Press Association cited local accounts of Ms Johnson’s involvement in the rescue. The Johnson family has not publicly commented on those claims.

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. According to The Sun, he suffered a broken arm and pelvis. Police said he remains in a critical but stable condition. Specially trained officers are continuing to support his family at the hospital.

The investigation has also focused on a 30-year-old man from Norfolk. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident.

Police said the man and the child were not known to each other. Detectives later released the suspect on bail until 18 September while further inquiries continue.

The force added that the man had been assessed as not fit for interview.

Johnson’s of Old Hurst began life as a family-owned dairy farm and has since expanded into a farm shop, butcher’s, tea room, steakhouse and zoo. The zoological gardens house more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers, bears and crocodiles.

The zoo says it specialises in crocodile conservation and has more than 20 years of experience caring for the reptiles. Owner Andy Johnson also helped compile a European-published dossier on crocodilian farming, welfare and husbandry.

Detective Inspector Verity McCann said police were continuing to investigate the “distressing incident”.

She said: “Our thoughts remain with the boy, and his family and specialist officers continue to support them through this difficult time.”

Meanwhile, the zoo announced that its tropical house, home to the crocodiles, will remain closed until further notice out of respect for the family.

In a social media statement, the zoo said its thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family following the incident.

As detectives work to establish exactly how the child came to be in the enclosure, attention remains firmly focused on the young boy's recovery and the circumstances behind one of the most shocking incidents ever reported at the attraction.

Zoo owner’s wife jumped 15ft to rescue boy from crocodile enclosure

Edited June 19Jun 19 by bannork

16 minutes ago, bannork said:

Police said the man and the child were not known to each other. Detectives later released the suspect on bail until 18 September while further inquiries continue.

The force added that the man had been assessed as not fit for interview.

"Not fit for interview", yet apparently fit enough to be released back into the public domain after attempted murder.

I struggle to understand how such decisions are reached, let alone how they can be justified. If the authorities accept that an individual's mental state is so impaired that they cannot even be interviewed, how can they simultaneously conclude that he presents no immediate risk to the public?

Should this same individual go on to harm somebody else, serious questions would need to be asked of those responsible for authorising his release. Accountability cannot simply disappear behind process and procedure.

One can only hope there are facts not yet available to the public, because on the face of it, this risks appearing to be yet another example of a system placing the rights of a dangerous individual ahead of the safety of the wider public.

Attempted murderer been released on bail with no interview, nxt appearance in september. Wouldnt want to ruin his summer hey! We still didnt get a name or pic yet. My spidey senses are tingling big time. Sounds like another culture enriching "doctor".

There is something wrong with the UK judiciary.

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

"Not fit for interview", yet apparently fit enough to be released back into the public domain after attempted murder.

Remind me. Was Darren Osbourne or Paul Doyle released to enjoy their summers? They dont call him 2TK for nothing

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

"Not fit for interview", yet apparently fit enough to be released back into the public domain after attempted murder.

I struggle to understand how such decisions are reached, let alone how they can be justified. If the authorities accept that an individual's mental state is so impaired that they cannot even be interviewed, how can they simultaneously conclude that he presents no immediate risk to the public?

Should this same individual go on to harm somebody else, serious questions would need to be asked of those responsible for authorising his release. Accountability cannot simply disappear behind process and procedure.

One can only hope there are facts not yet available to the public, because on the face of it, this risks appearing to be yet another example of a system placing the rights of a dangerous individual ahead of the safety of the wider public.

I admit I'm baffled- 'not fit for interview' yet released. He apparently didn't know the boy.

Perhaps CCTV showed he had nothing to do with the incident.

No news about who was looking after the boy at the time. More details needed.

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

Apparently, being not fit for interview means you are not in a state to be questioned under caution. This is governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The person may be heavily intoxicated, experiencing a severe mental health crisis, or suffering from a physical condition that prevents them from understanding the questions or providing reliable answers.

The article doesn't say if he was released to a mental health hospital.

15 minutes ago, bannork said:

I admit I'm baffled- 'not fit for interview' yet released. He apparently didn't know the boy.

Perhaps CCTV showed he had nothing to do with the incident.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and as far as has been reported, that allegation has not been downgraded nor dismissed.

15 minutes ago, bannork said:

No news about who was looking after the boy at the time. More details needed.

I'm not sure that has any real bearing on the situation. Whether they were parents or other guardians seems largely irrelevant.

In the UK at least, in an environment like this, particularly when it isn't overcrowded, it's perfectly normal to allow a three-year-old a degree of freedom to wander, explore and investigate their surroundings while the adults remain a few metres behind, watching and supervising.

That isn't negligence, it's simply how young children learn about the world around them. No reasonable parent expects to be protecting their child from a stranger suddenly picking them up and throwing them into a crocodile enclosure.

10 minutes ago, bannork said:

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

Unless this individual had a documented history of violence or behaviour that would reasonably have led carers to believe he posed a danger to others, it seems quite a leap to start assigning blame to them.

Having learning difficulties does not automatically make someone violent, nor does it place carers in a position where they can predict every unexpected act by an adult in their care.

10 minutes ago, bannork said:

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

Indeed, but that in itself highlights the current temperature of the debate, shaped by a number of high-profile cases in recent years.

Its no longer surprising that some people speculate about the background of suspects before the facts emerge. Whether those assumptions prove correct or not is another matter.

The more telling observation is not that some guessed incorrectly, but that the same conclusion was 'jumped to' by a handful of people - perhaps the underlying reason for that is more telling.

16 minutes ago, Purdey said:

The article doesn't say if he was released to a mental health hospital.

That omission leaves quite a significant void, as it is arguably one of the most important details.

The article is clear that he was released on bail until 18 September, some three months away, but it does not clarify whether that release was into a mental health facility, supervised care, or simply back into the wider community. If reports regarding mental instability or learning difficulties are accurate, that distinction matters enormously.

For me, the key issue is public safety. Someone alleged to have committed an act of this nature should not simply be released back into the general public without appropriate safeguards in place.

Whether those safeguards involve a secure mental health facility, supervised care, or some other form of oversight is a separate question. However, that is precisely the question that remains unanswered, leaving a significant void in the information available to the public.

Whilst it may not be the police's responsibility to provide every detail, there is a legitimate public interest in understanding whether appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of others. Simply announcing that an individual has been released on bail, without any context as to the nature of that release, inevitably raises questions and concerns.

Edited June 19Jun 19 by richard_smith237

24 minutes ago, bannork said:

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

Yeah right. Because based people thought it a fab idea to allow to gay men to adopt a young child. I mean, who could have guessed it would go pear shaped🤣

56 minutes ago, bannork said:

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

In one of my employments I used to encounter, regularly, several different individuals who required supervision when they were out and about.......there was a Group Home nearby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_home

One of them used to have 2 people supervising her.......she was big and a real handful, and I was very carefull how I interacted with her.

Now I use the bus I also often see such people, accompanied, on that.

More than a few would be totally lost without a minder.

One of my first thoughts about the current incident was that it involved such a person and that their supervisor took their eye off the ball.

Edited June 19Jun 19 by Enoon

In writing my previous post this came to mind:

"In the iconic 1931 Frankenstein film, the Monster accidentally drowns a young girl named Maria. While playing a game of throwing flowers into a lake, the Monster runs out of petals and, failing to understand that humans cannot float, tosses the girl into the water."

5 hours ago, bannork said:

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

They would have lapped it up Farage would be making an address to the nation from some field somewhere in his corduroy SS uniform demanding action and if previous form is anything to go by 'Tomme' Ten Names and his mob could go and burn down some Down's Syndrome care home.

A three-year-old boy critically injured in a zoo enclosure was attacked by a crocodile, the BBC understands.

The man who was arrested was from Norfolk, police said, and was not at the zoo as part of an organised group visit. A witness told the BBC she had seen a man in his late 20s, accompanied by two women wearing lanyards who she believed may have been carers, walking through the zoo about 10 minutes before the incident.

The witness said she overheard one of the carers ask: "Should we go to the crocodile house next?". The man replied: "Yeah."

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the suspect was white British after misinformation shared on social media.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9l2278m8no

The only explanation for this bizzare release I can think of is he arrived on a boat and it's dinner time at the 5* 🤔

13 hours ago, bannork said:

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

Sorry for all those posters salivating that the suspect could be a migrant.

Bad luck boys. Not been a good week for local white crime with that horrific case of the murder of the young adopted boy by two white Brits in their thirties.

Sounds like someone spreading misinformation, which you are then repeating.

Why don't you people ever learn?

13 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Yeah right. Because based people thought it a fab idea to allow to gay men to adopt a young child. I mean, who could have guessed it would go pear shaped🤣

Go talk to someone who can at least try to help you with your pathological gay fixation.

You’ll not work your issues out in this forum.

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

The only explanation for this bizzare release I can think of is he arrived on a boat and it's dinner time at the 5* 🤔

The known facts don’t support the narrative you have so eagerly constructed.

Don’t fret, you can now lose interest and hope for better luck next time.

14 hours ago, bannork said:

According to someone on Facebook the suspect is a white male in his 30s with learning difficulties. His carers could well be in serious trouble for this.

What colour were the carers ?

3 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

What colour were the carers ?

Why would that matter Nick?

14 hours ago, Purdey said:

Apparently, being not fit for interview means you are not in a state to be questioned under caution. This is governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The person may be heavily intoxicated, experiencing a severe mental health crisis, or suffering from a physical condition that prevents them from understanding the questions or providing reliable answers.

The article doesn't say if he was released to a mental health hospital.

There is, I suspect, some less than complete reporting here.

I imagine that rather than simply let out of the back door of the police station, and allowed to toddle off home, he was released from police custody, into appropriate psychiatric care.

33 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Why would that matter Nick?

Why does it matter what colour the child chucker was ?

6 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Why does it matter what colour the child chucker was ?

Ask those who think it does.

Now back your question Nick, why does the colour of the carers matter?

Edited June 20Jun 20 by Chomper Higgot

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Ask those who think it does.

Now back your question Nick, why does the colour of the cater’s matter?

Allicater ?

Why does it matter what colour the Allicater was ?

55 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The known facts don’t support the narrative you have so eagerly constructed.

Don’t fret, you can now lose interest and hope for better luck next time.

I'm 99.99% accurate in all assumptions in such matters as you well know Higgy🤔

10 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Allicater ?

Why does it matter what colour the Allicater was ?

Why does the color of the carers matter Nick?

Spit it out.

2 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

I'm 99.99% accurate in all assumptions in such matters as you well know Higgy🤔

Or at least you believe you are.

And surely that’s the point of your baseless assumptions.

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Why does the color of the carers matter Nick?

Spit it out.

Ask the people whom it matters what colour the chucker was, and my reply will be the same as theirs