George Barnett’s job as a small-town pastor means people probably won’t challenge him when he recounts the day he took a hunting rifle and took aim at an escaped rhesus monkey in rural Mississippi.
What began as a routine visit to his mother’s home in Vossburg on Monday is now the latest chapter in the not-so-great story that captivated much of the state, after a transport of research primates overturned in Jasper County just before Halloween.
Barnett’s wife spotted the fugitive monkey as a blur of fur crossing near a freeway exit ramp Monday afternoon. Once in the forest, he ran up to a tree and showed his teeth. Barnett, 45, grabbed his rifle and fired twice, he said, sending the animal to the ground.
“As soon as I saw it, all I thought was, ‘What if this thing attacks one of those people I grew up with or my kids?’” Barnett said.
The monkey was one of three that escaped last week’s accident, when a truck crashed while transporting 21 primates from the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center near New Orleans.
Barnett was the second Mississippi resident to take the monkey business into his own hands. On Sunday, Jessica Bond Ferguson opened fire after her 16-year-old son saw a monkey outside their home near Heidelberg, killing the animal.
“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” she told The Associated Press.
That leaves one escapee still missing, according to the state Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, which warned he can be aggressive.
Residents’ fears were due in part to incorrect information that circulated just after the accident, when the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office warned that the monkeys were carrying diseases, including Covid, hepatitis C and herpes, based on information collected at the scene. Authorities killed five of the monkeys near the crash site based on those concerns, which turned out to be false, Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson said.
He confirmed the latest monkey shooting on Monday.
Tulane clarified after the accident that the monkeys “had not been exposed to any infectious agents” and sent a team to help. According to the university, thirteen of the monkeys arrived at their intended destination last week. Animal rights organizations such as PETA said the accident highlighted the plight of animals used in research and called for more transparency, including the disclosure of the monkeys’ veterinary records.
On Monday, PreLabs, a biomedical research company, said the monkeys were theirs.
“We are cooperating with authorities and reviewing all safety procedures to ensure the continued well-being of both the animals and the community,” the statement said.
The company did not respond to questions from NBC News.
Kristen Moore, wildlife director at the Hattiesburg Zoo, said she understands the concerns, but hopes the public will heed officials’ advice to stay away from the latest monkey. Primates, native to Asia, generally prefer to flee rather than attack.
And for those wondering, they are typically herbivores. Therefore, pets should be fine.
“If you have a cat, they won’t chase it,” he said.
Barnett initially thought his wife, Kerri, was joking when she pointed out the furry creature running across the street shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday. They had just taken the exit towards their mother’s house, with their two small children in the car.
“Honey, there’s one of those monkeys,” he recalled Kerri saying.
She was right.
“This monkey was just crossing the street,” Barnett said. “Almost like he owned the neighborhood.”
A day earlier, Barnett was getting ready to go to church when he heard about Ferguson’s story.
Now he was dialing 911 to report his own sighting in Vossburg, about 100 miles east of the state capital.
“We just saw one of the monkeys right next to Exit 118,” he told the dispatcher, according to a recording obtained by NBC News. “It’s located on the side of the road right next to the exit.”
Barnett’s 7- and 8-year-old children in the back seat became hysterical. They normally love to play outside at their grandmother’s house, but they had stayed inside for the past few days while the primates were running loose.
Barnett dropped his children off at his mother’s house, grabbed a rifle and returned.
He walked towards the forest, where the monkey had taken refuge in a tree.
An experienced squirrel and deer hunter estimates the animal weighed between 35 and 40 pounds. (Monkeys typically weigh between 17 and 20 pounds, Moore said.) After firing twice, the monkey fell to the ground and took off, he said. Barnett did not pursue him.
Two men soon arrived in a white van that Barnett believes belonged to a transportation company. They tried to track the monkey based on a blood trail, then got help from a drone that could detect the animal’s body heat, Kerri said. It was already night when a worker appeared with the deceased primate.
Kerri documented the night on Facebook Live. The videos generated some reactions interspersed with praise, but Barnett believes he made the right decision. Most of the critics were not locals.
“They’re not very close here, so they don’t have that fear,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said he heard from parishioners at his church in Buckatunna, about 40 miles away, who were excited about their adventure. He’s anticipating some questions in Wednesday night’s Bible study.
Back in Heidelberg, a short distance from the crash site, Mayor Robert Barnett (no relation to George) said jokes about the apocalypse have been circulating online among the city’s roughly 600 residents. Crews wearing protective gear have been seen on area roads. The mayor flippantly noted that there is no quarantine in place: he doesn’t want locals to be afraid or visitors to stay away.
“I hated it happening this way,” he said, “but at least people know about Heidelberg right now.”
