Tiger victim’s family speak out after his death, talking about his ‘significant mental illness’

Earlier this week, 23-year-old William Chapman was named as the man who was killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. 

The tragic incident occurred last weekend, when now-viral videos captured the young man in an enclosure belonging to a rare Amur tiger called Altai. 

“The tiger subsequently attacked the man, resulting in serious injury,” Yorkshire police confirmed. “Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Altai the tiger will not be euthanised, the wildlife park said, stating he was “safe and well” after the incident. 

Credit: SWNS

William Chapman’s family have now spoken out 

In a statement following the tragic news, William Chapman’s family described him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man.”

“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” they said. “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.”

For days now, people have questioned what led to the incident, and how William was even able to get inside the cage with a top predator. Police are still investigating the manner of his death, and William’s family urged people to wait for the investigation to play out. 

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Credit: Instagram

“Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death,” they said.  “We would ask everybody to respect that process.”

They’re putting their trust in the “relevant authorities” to “get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did”, but the family did condemn the ongoing viral aspect of the story. 

From the video itself going viral to the literal President of the United States posting an AI-generated meme of it, William’s family slammed the “deeply offensive media content” that is “causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time.”

“We ask people to stop doing this,” they said. 

More to follow. 

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Featured image credit: SWNS/Instagram