Cow escapes ‘senior prank’ — and runs through suburban Illinois neighborhood, cops say
A cow on the loose was seen running through an Illinois neighborhood after it escaped from students during their “senior prank,” police said.
Officers were called to an area near Northridge Preparatory School at about 3 a.m. on Thursday, April 27, “on a report of suspicious objects in the area,” according to a news release from the Niles Police Department.
The responding officers found Northridge Preparatory School students who were involved in the senior prank, authorities said. The prank involved bringing live animals to school.
The “prank went awry when a group of our seniors lost control of a cow they intended to put in a corral they built in front of the school,” according to a statement from Northridge Preparatory School.
Officers and other first responders partnered with Wagner Farms to catch it in a local neighborhood.
WBBM Newsradio personality Roger Plummer captured a video of the chase as he was getting home.
“I arrive home tired from work at 5:45 a.m. and then I wonder if I’m dreaming,” he said on Facebook. In his video, the cow can be seen running past houses as people tried to catch up.
“I was standing by the truck, and it looked like a rodeo,” Kurt Hejza told WLS. “It was crazy between the police and the trappers, and then it was the cow (that) was coming in the crowd, so we all kinda like backed off a bit. But it was interesting.”
At about 9:40 a.m., someone with Wagner Farms secured the cow and was taking it to “an appropriate facility,” police said.
“The senior class is in the process of contacting the police department, city officials, and local residents to apologize for this incident,” according to Northridge Preparatory School. “We can share on behalf of our seniors that they have secured a safe and appropriate home for the animal.”
“Northridge appreciates the work of Park Ridge, Morton Grove and Niles law enforcement and City officials in conjunction with Wagner Farms,” the school continued. “We apologize to the local community for any inconvenience this event may have caused and will work internally to find resolution and accountability.”
Niles is about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.
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