A three-year-old boy was attacked by at least one crocodile after being tossed into a reptile pit at a British zoo by a stranger with learning difficulties – who has already been released from police custody.
The 30-year-old suspect from Norfolk, who did not know the victim, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.
But less than 24 hours after the attack, he has been released on bail until September 18 after being assessed as ‘not fit for interview’ by detectives, police said today.
Witnesses said owner and zookeeper Tracey Johnson sprinted in, pulling the injured child away from the crocodiles and to safety. She and her husband Andy were seen chatting at the zoo today as police sealed off the enclosure and spoke to staff.
The attacker is a ‘mentally disabled’ man who was at the zoo on an organised day out with at least two carers, according to several locals.
Tearful witnesses described seeing the child suffer a broken arm and pelvis before ‘heroic’ zookeeper Mrs Johnson leapt in to rescue him from the jaws of the animals.
Other parents in the zoo with their children described how they heard a blood-curdling scream from the crocodile enclosure yesterday afternoon.
A mother who asked not to be named said: 'We sat there and heard a loud scream. Never in a million years did I think someone was in with the crocodiles.
'We saw the air ambulance come over within about 10 minutes. They held up a white sheet in between the farm shop and the cafe so no one could see what was happening. My daughter was oblivious. The little boy was only three and my daughter is two, it could have been her.'
The boy had been on an elevated walkway admiring at least 15 crocodiles and alligators when he was apparently lifted over a 4ft safety fence and hurled 15ft down into the enclosure.
He was then attacked by at least one crocodile, multiple sources said. There are more than a dozen crocodiles and alligators in the enclosure, including two large Nile crocodiles called Romeo and Cuddles. Both measure between 9ft and 11ft, with Romeo, the male, weighing up to 485lbs.
An expert has said he believes the boy will have landed on a concrete surface and may have rolled into the water at around 1.20pm yesterday. He said the crocodiles are 'well fed' but would 'snap' at any human who landed near them suddenly.
Chris Newman, 67, director of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, who is a friend of the owners Andy and Tracey Johnson, said: 'I wouldn't expect them to eat a child, but it would bite a child if it landed on it or by it. That's where the trouble would come - they have such a powerful bite. Even an investigatory bite would be catastrophic.'
Tracey Johnson, right, the hero zoo owner who pulled the child to safety, chats with her husband Andy today as it was revealed the suspect has already been released from custody
The boy had been on an elevated walkway admiring at least 15 crocodiles and alligators when he was apparently lifted over a 4ft safety fence and hurled 15ft into the enclosure (pictured in 2025)
Some of the larger crocodiles in the pit are up to 11ft long and weigh up to 485lbs
The boy had been looking at the reptiles when he was thrown around 15ft from this elevated viewing platform into the Johnsons of Old Hurst tropical house near Huntingdon
Police at the zoo near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire today
Pictured: Owners Andy Johnson and wife Tracey transporting a 400lb crocodile in 2009. Tracey is believed to have pulled the boy to safety
A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said on Friday morning: 'A three-year-old boy from Cambridgeshire remains in Addenbrooke's Hospital in a critical but stable condition, following an incident at Johnson’s of Old Hurst yesterday
'A 30-year-old man from Norfolk, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, has been released on bail while detectives from our Major Crime Unit conduct further enquiries regarding this incident. The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview.
'Officers were called to the zoo at 1.24pm by the ambulance service to reports that a three-year-old boy had suffered serious injuries.
'The boy, who sustained serious injuries while in the enclosure, was pulled out by staff from the zoo and received medical treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital.'
The incident has chilling echoes of an incident at the Tate Modern in London in 2019 when a six-year-old French tourist was hurled from an outdoor viewing platform.
He somehow survived the 100ft fall but suffered life-changing injuries.
Disturbed teenager Jonty Bravery was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years in 2020 for attempted murder.
He is being held at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.
The boy had been looking at the reptiles when he was thrown around 15ft from an elevated viewing platform into the Johnsons of Old Hurst tropical house near Huntingdon.
At least one crocodile attacked him, sources confirmed…
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