Las Vegas police shot and killed a chimpanzee and captured another after they escaped Thursday morning in the northwest valley.

Police received a call at about 10:15 a.m. Thursday that two dangerous and agitated chimpanzees were on the loose, having escaped from their enclosure at a residence on the 5700 block of Rowland Avenue, near Jones Boulevard and Ann Road.

Neighbors reported to police that the chimps were acting aggressively and climbing onto and beating on vehicles, including a police patrol car, officer Marcus Martin said.

The chimpanzees, named Buddy and C.J., belonged to Nikki Grusenmeyer, formerly Nikki Riddell, a longtime exotic animal owner and trainer in Las Vegas who had owned the chimps since the early 2000s.

Reached by phone Thursday afternoon, a distraught Grusenmeyer said it wasn't a good time to talk and that she had to "take care of my little girl," referring to C.J., the female chimp who survived.

The property where the chimps were licensed, 5720 Rowland Ave., is owned by David Potochan, who appeared before the Clark County Planning Commission two months ago to secure a permit to keep the two primates.

County officials at the meeting said they had no complaints to animal control about the chimpanzees, and the permit was approved. There are 26 other locations in Clark County approved for exotic animals, according to the county.

Read more at the Las Vegas Review Journal