3-year-old found in crocodile enclosure at zoo, police charge suspect not known to child with attempted murder

Crocodiles at Johnsons Zoo in Old Hurst, eastern England. (Johnsons Zoo in Old Hurst)

LONDON — Police in eastern England on Thursday arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after a 3-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo near the English university city of Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire Police said officers were called early afternoon to Johnsons Zoo in Old Hurst following “reports of an incident involving a 3-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure.”

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge about 25 miles (40 kilometres) away. Police said he was in critical but stable condition, and that a man from the nearby county of Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of murder.

“We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other,” said Detective Inspector Verity McCann.

According to its website, the zoo is home to more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers, sloth bears, capybaras, meerkats and crocodiles.