Mountain Lion Roams Streets of El Paso, But Was Shooting It Dead Necessary? [VIDEO]

A mountain lion spotted in Central El Paso yesterday morning was shot and killed by police at the H&H Car Wash and many here in town don’t believe it was justified.

By all accounts, the animal was shot twice with a tranquilizer; once at the State Building on Missouri Street, and again after it was trapped behind a chain link fence and a rock wall at H&H Car Wash.

(--Video recorded by an H&H customer)

After getting shot with a tranquilizer the second time, news video shows the lion then jumped up on a metal landing inside the car wash. That’s when an El Paso police officer made the decision to shoot it dead. (--KFOX 14 has video of the shooting here.)

A police spokesman told the news station officers believed the lion could have escaped through a small opening near the roof, which might’ve turned into  “a situation where a child or a citizen could have been injured”, and that’s why they had to shoot and kill the cat.

Do you think the El Paso police officer over-reacted? Should they have waited for the tranquilizers to take effect. Tell us what you think by hitting up the “comment” section below

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