What to know about the deadly U.K. tiger attack — and the 'offensive' video shared by Trump
Family urges people to stop sharing clip of William Chapman's fatal encounter with Amur tiger at wildlife park
The family of a man mauled to death by a tiger at a U.K. wildlife park on Saturday is pleading with people to stop sharing footage of the attack online, calling it "deeply offensive" and painful.
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family → know → it
The statement from the family of 23-year-old William Chapman came after U.S. President Donald Trump shared a clip of the fatal attack on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, writing "don't ever mess with nature!"
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Trump → come → nature
The 41-second video shared by Trump shows a large tiger repeatedly biting and clawing at Chapman.
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tiger → share → Chapman
Trump's post was then shared by the White House's Rapid Response account on X, where commenters called it "sick" and "disgusting."
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commenters → share → it
The U.S. president later posted an apparently AI-generated video depicting himself taming a tiger and then playing with it, accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
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Lion → post → song
His social media posts have sparked outrage, but they have also raised questions about how the tragedy happened.
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tragedy → spark → questions
Here's what we know about the tiger attack and the man who died.
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who → know → attack
Where did this happen?
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this → happen → ?
The attack happened on Saturday in a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in northern England.
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attack → happen → England
The popular conservation and welfare park opened in 2009.
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park → open → 2009
The "Land of the Tigers" area opened in 2011, "where the majestic big cats can freely roaming their woodlands and grasslands or play in their very own waterfall pool," the park explains on its website.
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park → open → website
It features a 300-metre-long raised walkway for spectators.
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It → feature → spectators
How did the attack happen?
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attack → happen → ?
BBC News reports that emergency services were called to the park in the early afternoon Saturday for reports that a man had climbed into the tiger enclosure from a high walkway.
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man → report → walkway
Witnesses told multiple U.K. media outlets that the tiger had been lounging on a ledge until the man entered.
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man → tell → ledge
"The tiger got alerted.
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tiger → alert → ?
He went into stalk mode.
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He → go → mode
The tiger came flying off the ledge and approached him," a witness told The Telegraph.
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witness → come → Telegraph
Witnesses reportedly tried to distract the tiger, shouting at it and banging on the fence, as the animal pawed and nipped at the man.
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animal → try → man
Videos posted online appear to show the man pointing at the tiger, yelling "stop" and "no."
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man → post → tiger
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Image → win → Year
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Staff reportedly erected screens to block the view as emergency services responded.
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services → fight → view
In a Facebook post, South Yorkshire Police confirmed that "despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene."
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man → confirm → scene
The park was then evacuated, police said, adding there was no risk to the public.
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police → evacuate → public
Yorkshire Wildlife Park was closed and has yet to reopen to the public.
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Park → close → public
The park is "working closely with the authorities," it notes on its website.
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it → work → website
A coroner's inquest is scheduled to begin Thursday, reports the Doncaster Free Press.
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Press → schedule → ?
Chapman, 23, was a former child actor, according to the BBC.
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Chapman → accord → BBC
The outlet notes he appeared in the 2009 ITV production May Contain Nuts and the 2012 BBC series True Stories.
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he → note → production
The Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe shared a tribute to Chapman on Facebook Tuesday, noting he was a former student.
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he → share → Facebook
"We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us," the school posted.
"
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school → watch → us
It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him."
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who → remember → him
Chapman's family described him as a "bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved" in a statement shared by South Yorkshire Police.
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family → describe → Police
"Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication," the family added.
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family → suffer → medication
The statement said it was for the coroner to determine whether his medical history played a role in his death.
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history → say → death
"The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did."
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he → do → what
How did he get in the enclosure?
Chapman reportedly entered it himself.
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Chapman → get → it
A witness told the Daily Mail that Chapman had been "dancing his way up and down the bridge with his AirPods in" before asking her to take a photo of him.
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Chapman → tell → him
Witnesses told the Telegraph that, shortly after, another woman tried to stop Chapman from jumping in but he overpowered her.
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he → tell → her
Witnesses described Chapman acting "in a trance" in the enclosure, sometimes dancing with his phone out.
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Chapman → describe → phone
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
