Escaped cows roam Pico Rivera; 1 killed by deputy

A small herd of cattle escaped a meatpacking facility when a gate was left open and wandered more than a mile away into a residential Pico Rivera neighborhood Tuesday night.

About 7:35 p.m., officials received reports of about 20 cows at Beverly Road and Durfee Avenue, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Tracy Koerner.

Media footage showed the cows calmly gathering about 9 p.m. in a cul-de-sac. A few appeared to be munching on the front lawn of a residence.

At one point during the night, a cow that charged at a family of four was fatally shot by law enforcement. Several people fell to the ground and sustained minor bruising and scrapes, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Miguel Meza.

At least seven department vehicles parked in the cul-de-sac. Koerner said deputies attempted to keep the cows together while waiting for the department’s mounted enforcement detail to arrive with horse trailers.

By about 9:50 p.m., most of the cows had been loaded onto two trailers.

But several managed to escape the deputies and continued their outing through the neighborhood.

Sheriff’s officials announced in the early hours of Wednesday that of the 40 cows that had escaped, 38 had been recaptured, one had been shot and another was still loose.