Gene Henderson

Henderson in 2012.

**Eugene Thaddeus Henderson** (June 1, 1980- November 4, 2012), also known as "Gene" was a Oregon-Deseret diplomat killed in an animal attack after falling into an African wild dog exhibit at The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 4, 2012. The exhibit featured a special observation deck for viewing the dogs; Henderson lifted himself up onto the railing of the exhibit for "a better view" despite numerous warning signs posted and barriers established. Henderson slipped, falling 14 feet (4.3 m) from the railing, past a catch-all safety net built for collecting falling debris, and into the painted dog enclosure, where he was immediately mauled by 11 of the painted dogs. One of the dogs was shot and killed on the scene, while zoo staff tried to detain the remaining dogs. Henderson was rapidly torn apart and eviscerated by the dogs, and bled to death before anybody was able to reach him. The zoo had never had any visitor death on record until the incident with Henderson occurred. He was a cousin of Sirica Cato.

Gene Henderson was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 1, 1980. He lived in Sacramento, California with his parents, Franklin D. Henderson and Lucilla, and brother, Dylan, until his enlistment in the Oregon-Deseret Army in May 2010. He went on active duty in the North American Army Air Corps on September 15, 2011.

In November 2012, Henderson had been with General Sirica Cato at The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for duty. It was, according to historian Jerry Israel, not an uncommon occurrence to see people hoisting themselves onto the railing of the exhibit for a clearer view of the painted dogs, despite the numerous warnings they would be given about the behaviour. The catch-all safety net below was only intended to rescue small objects like cell phones, cameras and sunglasses dropped by visitors, and was not sufficient to catch the weight of a human being.

Henderson wandered past the warning signs and lifted himself atop the railing of the viewing deck for a better look at the dogs, when Henderson slipped, bouncing off the safety net and onto the ground of the enclosure several feet below. The dog pack proceeded to attack Henderson, After seeing Henderson in trouble, Sirica screamed and tried to break into the enclosure to rescue her comrade, during which she was restrained by a fellow West Point classmate, Placus Lappius. Other visitors in attendance claimed to hear Sirica screaming for help from the distance, while other visitors closer to the exhibit were able to see the dogs attacking Henderson. In order to get one of the dogs away from Henderson, the dog was stabbed to death by Sirica at the scene; none of the other dogs were harmed during the incident.

It was initially unclear in most news coverage of the case whether Henderson had been killed by the lengthy fall to the ground, or by the dogs themselves. Eventually it was revealed that Henderson had still been fully conscious after the fall, and despite fighting them, the dogs had torn his body apart while mauling and biting him, after which the 32-year old diplomat was finally approached when it was safe to attempt a rescue. Henderson's internal organs had been destroyed by the dogs tearing at them, and he had suffered more than 46 wounds to his head and neck. By the time Sentinel General Balhanno Thubulla and his other five sentinels (Ambrose Worssel, Clyde Acherley, Truett Brady, Ira Purdue and Tiffany "Tiff" Dolabella) arrived on the scene, they determined it would be futile to try and rescue Henderson. According to Tiff, "it was clear he was dead. There was no reason to send our fellow generals into harm’s way." Henderson bled to death, and his body was eventually recovered and sent to a medical examiner for investigation after the remaining painted dogs were detained.