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Video shows herd of cows running loose in California neighborhood

Forty cows escaped from a meatpacking facility when a gate was accidentally left open. One person was injured in the stampede.
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Video showed dozens of cows running loose in a California neighborhood on Tuesday after escaping from a meatpacking facility.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m. PT, authorities responded to a report about the herd galloping down the streets of Pico Rivera, about 11 miles southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Nearby residents were asked to avoid the area as officials tried to gather the 40 cows that took off from the slaughterhouse when a gate was accidentally left open.

Several videos captured the stampede as bystanders appeared to watch in disbelief. One clip showed a cow bucking and knocking over a person as he tried to recapture one of the loose animals.

One cow charged at a family of four, knocking some members to the ground, the sheriff's department said. A deputy fatally shot the animal.

The family members, who authorities did not identify, were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

More than an hour after their escape, most of the cows were corralled into a cul-de-sac on Friendship Avenue, NBC Los Angeles reported. Of the 39 remaining cows, 38 were safely recaptured and one was still on the move.

No other injuries were reported.

The Pico Rivera incident echoes other animal escapes in the past year.

In February, a herd of more than 65 cows escaped from a farm in northwest Indiana. In September, a deputy with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office spotted a tiger wandering the roads in Tennessee. And in May 2020, a herd of nearly 200 goats broke the boards of an electric fence and took over the streets of San Jose, California.