Cows Escape Meat Packing Facility, Run Wild in Los Angeles Neighborhood Before 1 Is Shot by Police

CBS Los Angeles/Youtube

A chaotic scene in Los Angeles turned tragic on Tuesday night as cows wreaked havoc on a quiet neighborhood.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, at approximately 7:36 p.m. on June 22 about 40 cows descended on Pico Rivera, having just escaped a meat packing facility where "a gate was accidentally left opened," a press release reads. (The Today show shared video of the scene on Wednesday morning.)

The Sheriff's Department Mounted Enforcement Detail was called to the scene to help round up the animals and bring them back to the meat packing facility, located about one mile away.

As the cows continued to roam, one charged a family of four, knocking them to the ground, according to the department's release. A sheriff's deputy shot and killed the animal. The family was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.

According to the release, 38 of the animals had been captured as of Wednesday morning, with one still on the loose.