A farmer in Jones, Oklahoma, died from laceration wounds recently after being attacked by two water buffalo he had recently purchased.
The Jones Police Department said that the victim, 45-year-old Bradley McMichael, was attacked by the water buffalo at about 8:35 p.m. Friday.
Police believe Mr. McMichael was tending to the buffalo before the attack and that he got trapped in their pen. Mr. McMichael suffered multiple deep lacerations, though they did not specify if the buffalo’s horns had slashed him or if he had been gored.
When they arrived, first responders were initially unable to reach Mr. McMichael due to the continued aggression by the water buffalo, the police said.
By the time they got to him, the farmer was already dead. Both animals were put down, one for attacking Mr. McMichael and the other to keep first responders safe, police said.
The farmer bought the water buffalo the day before the incident. The victim’s fiancée, Jennifer Green, told Oklahoma City’s KWTV that they had previously lived at a petting zoo.
Jones Police Department Chief Bryan Farrington told the New York Times that the incident was the first fatal water buffalo attack he could recall and that “multiple people around the area have had water buffalo before.”
A funeral service for Mr. McMichael will be held Saturday at Jones High School.
