George Barnett’s job as a small-town pastor means people probably won’t challenge him when he recounts the day he took a shotgun and took aim at a fleeing rhesus monkey in rural Mississippi.
What started as a routine visit to his mother in Vossburg on Monday is now the latest chapter in the not-so-great story that has captivated much of the state, after a transport of research primates overturned in Jasper County just before Halloween.
Barnett’s wife spotted the fleeing monkey as a blur of fur crossed near a highway exit ramp Monday afternoon. Once in the woods, he ran into a tree and bared his teeth. Barnett, 45, grabbed his rifle and fired twice, he said, sending the animal crashing to the ground.
“As soon as I saw it, the only thing I thought was, ‘What if this thing attacked one of these people I grew up with, or my children?'” Barnett said.
The monkey was one of three escapees from 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 over the monkey business. 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 their children,” she told The Associated Press.
That still leaves one runaway missing, according to the state Department of Wildlife, Fish and Parks, which has warned it could be aggressive.
Residents’ fears were partly driven by incorrect information that circulated immediately after the accident, when the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office warned that the monkeys carried diseases including Covid, hepatitis C and herpes, based on information gathered 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 them. Thirteen of the monkeys reached their intended destination last week, according to the university. Animal rights organizations such as PETA said the accident highlighted the plight of animals used in research and called for more transparency, including the release of the monkeys’ veterinary records.
On Monday, PreLabs, a biomedical research company, said the monkeys belonged to them.
“We are cooperating with authorities and reviewing all safety procedures to ensure the continued welfare of 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 she hopes the public heeds authorities’ advice to stay away from the latest ape. Primates, native to Asia, generally prefer to flee rather than attack.
And for those wondering, they are usually herbivores. So pets should be fine.
“If you have a cat, they won’t chase it,” she said.
Barnett initially thought his wife, Kerri, was joking when she pointed out the furry creature crossing the road shortly after 4 p.m. Monday. They had just taken the exit toward his mother’s house, with their two young sons in the car.
“Baby, there’s one of those monkeys,” he remembers telling Kerri.
She was right.
“This monkey was crossing the street,” Barnett said. “It’s almost like he owns the neighborhood.”
A day earlier, Barnett was getting ready for church when he heard about Ferguson’s story.
He now dialed 911 to report his own sighting in Vossburg, about 100 miles east of the state capital.
“We just saw one of the monkeys right off exit 118,” he told the dispatcher, according to a recording obtained by NBC News. “It’s sitting on the side of the road, right next to the exit.”
Barnett’s 7- and 8-year-old boys in the back seat became hysterical. Normally, they love to play outside at their grandmother’s house, but they were staying inside the last few days while the primates were free range.
Barnett dropped his children off at his mother’s house, grabbed a gun and left.
He advanced into the woods, where the monkey had taken refuge in a tree.
An experienced squirrel and deer hunter, he estimates the animal weighed between 35 and 40 pounds. (Typically, the monkeys weigh between 17 and 20 pounds, Moore said.) After shooting twice, the monkey fell to the ground and took off, he said. Barnett did not pursue it.
Two men in a white truck who Barnett said were part of a transportation company soon arrived. They tried to track the monkey by a blood trail, then got help from a drone that could detect the animal’s body heat, Kerri said. It was dark when a worker appeared with the deceased primate.
Kerri documented the night on Facebook Live. The videos were met with some pushback interspersed with praise, but Barnett believes he made the right choice. Most of the reviewers were not locals.
“They’re not close here, so they don’t have that fear,” he said.
During that time, he said he heard from congregants at his church in Buckatunna, about 40 miles away, who were excited about his adventure. He expects some questions during Wednesday night’s Bible study.
Back in Heidelberg, a short distance from the crash site, Mayor Robert Barnett (no relation to George) said online jokes about the apocalypse were circulating among the town’s roughly 600 residents. Crews in protective gear were spotted on area highways. The mayor lightly noted that no quarantine was in effect: he doesn’t want residents to be afraid or visitors to stay away.
“I hated that it happened that way,” he said, “but at least people know about Heidelberg right now.”
