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Tiger Killed After Jumping Into Georgia Backyard: Police

Police don't yet know where the tiger came from

A tiger got loose in northwest Georgia early Wednesday and was fatally shot by police officers when it jumped into a backyard, authorities said.

The officers tried to have professionals secure the animal, which was reported to police near an I-75 on-ramp in Stockbridge, near Atlanta. But the tiger leapt over a fence behind a house and started to attack a dog, so the officers shot and killed it, Henry County Police Captain Joey Smith said.

"It was jumping into the backyard of a residences and of course there were some concerns that a homeowner might come out," he said at a news briefing.

It wasn't immediately clear where the tiger came from, Smith said. A nearby animal sanctuary that houses tigers said its tigers were all accounted for.

"Thank you to the officers for trying their best to bring this animal to safety," Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary said in a post on Facebook.

NBC affiliate WXIA reports that there have been other reports of large felines roaming the area in Henry County in over the years.

Police were investigating the officers' actions.

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