Monkey Attack in Spokane

KLXY News reported Saturday on a monkey rampage in Spokane, Washington.

There was no monkeying around on the South Hill on Friday, after Spokane animal control officers responded to an unusual call for help. A macaque monkey, native to Africa and Asia, escaped its owner's home, biting three neighbors.

"That is something you don't see in Spokane," says Scott Battaglia on a home video of the monkey.

"It was freaky. He had red eyes," said eight-year-old Aaron Trujillo.

Aaron was walking his dog with his best friend, Grey, when he spotted the monkey.

"And I was like, what in the heck is a monkey doing here?" Aaron exclaimed.

The pair started to run really, really fast .

"And we were like, running really fast down the sidewalk," Aaron explained, "and and we were like, ahhhh! It was like, so freaky."

"I thought it was a joke," said Dorothy Trujillo, Aaron's mother, "making it up because they have some imagination."

So she had to see for herself.

"And I, uh, got a little bit closer, took pictures and it looked like it was going to go back in the house," says Dorothy, "but then it turned around and charged me."

It ended up biting her on the leg.

"It really hurt," she said. "It just kind of grabbed me and wouldn't let go and it looked pretty bad."

The monkey bit two other people before animal control personnel arrived and caught it with a net. It is illegal to own primates in the state of Washington, so the owner won't be getting the monkey back after the quarantine period.

I lived in Spokane for three years and never had monkey trouble. The neighborhood has gone ape since I left.