Pittsburgh Police arrested a man who breached the fences at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium after hours on Wednesday night, according to police.
The zoo’s 24-hour security was alerted to the incident shortly before 8 p.m., and police from Zone 5 arrived quickly afterward. Police spokesperson Amanda Mueller said the man was safely apprehended with no injuries, and security did a full sweep of the grounds to ensure the safety of both animals and staff.
“This appears to be a mental-health situation and the actor will be referred to and provided the appropriate services,” Mueller said.
There was no damage to zoo property.
Jeremy Goodman, president and CEO at the zoo, said staff conducts regular drills for emergency situations as part of its safety protocols.
“We responded quickly and we had the right people here to take action: security and animal care staff,” Goodman said. “Everybody did everything right.”
Zoo officials said the incident will not affect operations on Thursday.
Patrick Varine and Michael DiVittorio are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862 and pvarine@triblive.com, and Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com
