A ram believed to be responsible for killing an elderly couple has been shot dead by New Zealand police.
The pair, in their 80s, were found dead by their son in a paddock attached to their home in Waitakere, rural West Auckland, the New Zealand Herald reported.
He had grown concerned after not hearing from them in the morning, a family spokesperson said.
Police attended the scene at 7.30am local time and confirmed the ram was in the paddock at the time of their visit.
The country’s force said in a statement: “Another party at the scene suffered a minor injury after being attacked by this ram.”
It added that its officers were “confronted and approached” by the ram.
After assessing the situation, they shot the ram dead.
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Dean Burrell, a relative, told the Herald the couple had “both lost their lives in a tragic accident”.
“They’re good people. They’re over 80. They don’t deserve this,” Mr Burrell said.
“Everyone’s in shock as to what’s happened. They’re very upset. I feel like I was dreaming it actually, it was a bit of shock, being told what had happened and I just didn’t believe it.”
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Mr Burrell’s father had phoned him to tell him the news and he came to the scene to “support [his] cousins and the wider family”.
An investigation into the deaths is under way and a post-mortem is expected.
