Loose camel kills two people on Tennessee farm, sheriff's office says

The victims were identified as Bobby Matheny, 42, and Tommy Gunn, 67. The camel was eventually put down, the Obion County Sheriff’s Office said.

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A loose camel attacked and killed two men at a Tennessee farm Thursday, officials said. 

The camel attacked Bobby Matheny, 42, and Tommy Gunn, 67, at Shirley Farms in Obion, about 100 miles northeast of Memphis, the Obion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release

Deputies received a call about the camel around 4:45 p.m. and found Matheny and Gunn unconscious on the ground and the camel still on the loose, according to the release. 

A camel on Shirley Farms in Obion, Tenn. A loose camel killed two people at the farm on Thursday.WPSD

Multiple agencies were on the scene to provide aid and move the victims to safety, officials said.

As deputies tried to move one of the victims into an ambulance, the camel reappeared, "attacked" a sheriff’s office vehicle and moved toward the deputies, the release stated.

“It was at this time officers had to put the camel down for the safety of everyone on scene,” the sheriff’s office said. 

Matheny, of Ridgely, Tennessee, and Gunn, of Obion, later succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Shirley Farms declined to comment to NBC News.

It's not immediately clear where the camel emerged from. Pumpkin Barn LLC, which is a part of Shirley Farms, has a petting zoo, according to its Facebook page.