Toddler injured in crocodile enclosure at U.K. zoo; man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious injuries after ending up in a crocodile enclosure at a U.K. zoo, and police arrested a man on suspicion of trying to murder the child.

The incident happened Thursday at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a zoo in Huntingdon, 70 miles north of London.

Zoo staff rescued the boy and gave him medical treatment before he was taken to the hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition on Friday, Cambridgeshire police said.

Andy Johnson, the proprietor of the zoo, told the BBC that his wife, Tracey, was among those who entered the enclosure to save the tot.

The police did not say whether the boy was injured by a fall into the enclosure or by the crocodiles living there.

The police said the man they arrested on suspicion of trying to kill the unnamed boy and was “not known to the victim.” They did not specify what the suspect did to imperil the child’s life.

The arrested man, 30, is out on bail until Sept. 18. The police said he was unfit to be interviewed.

Zoo officials said on social media that “our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today. Out of respect to the family, our Tropical House will remain closed until further notice.”