A steer escaped from a fenced-in area near the MU College of Veterinary Medicine on Tuesday morning, leading the MU Police Department on a chase through campus.
The cow escaped just before 8:30 a.m., MUPD spokesman Brian Weimer said. It was first located in University Parking Lot CG1, where MUPD officers, College of Veterinary Medicine staff and the steer’s owner attempted to contain the animal and load it for delivery to a nearby abattoir for slaughter.
Officers pursued the steer to East Campus, and College of Veterinary Medicine staff attempted to tranquilize the animal near a parking garage, according to a [statement from MUPD.](http://www.mupolice.com/pr/archive/2012/4-2012.php) The tranquilizer dart made contact with the animal, but the sedative did not act quickly. The steer became more agitated and injured a man trying to help corral the animal, said Dusty Nagy, an assistant professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“He trekked a lot further than I expected him to after that dart got in him,” Nagy said. “This (steer) really got to a point where if there was somebody close enough in an area where he wanted to go, he was going to run them down. And at 1,300 pounds, that’s a pretty formidable opponent.”
The victim, John Brune, was transported to University Hospital. Brune was in serious condition as of 5 p.m., a hospital spokesman said.
The steer made its way near the Boone Hospital Center before turning back toward Anthony Street, where it was shot and killed by officers in a woman’s backyard at 9:49 a.m.
“It was a danger to people,” Weimer said. “It had already injured one person and it was headed back to an area with lots of people.”
The animal’s carcass was removed from the backyard and loaded onto a trailer by veterinary staffers. Nagy said the animal is no longer suited for slaughter because of the tranquilizer drugs in its system, and she is waiting to hear from the cow’s owner about what should be done with the carcass.
Nagy, a professor at MU since 2005, said the college often receives calls about loose animals, but she can’t recall the last time an animal escaped from the abattoir. These incidents typically occur when trailers overturn on the highway, and the animal’s main concern is to avoid people, she said.
“That’s a lot of what happened today,” Nagy said. “He was trying to get away from people. The problem is when you’re in a populated area, particularly when people are coming out of their houses to actually take video and observe, it gets them running even worse.”
Nagy called the timing of this incident a saving grace for the responders.
“All I can think is that I’m happy school wasn’t in session,” Nagy said. “At this stage of the game the extra people in the area — walkers, bikers or cars — make it extremely difficult to keep these guys contained. Even if you’ve got them moving at a good pace to a secure area, if one person pops into their line of sight, that could dramatically change how everything goes.”
YouTube user lynx0v [posted this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUkS7r4Oe8I&feature=plcp) of the cow this morning:
_Matthew Flores contributed to this report._
