ST. ALBANS, Mo. – Three bison were shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in the Franklin County community of St. Albans.

According to Franklin County Sheriff Steven Pelton, deputies were called to the area of St. Albans and Bassett roads around 1:15 p.m. for a trio of escaped bison.

The bison owners attempted to corral the animals into their enclosure on Bassett Road while deputies assisted with traffic control, along with the Boles Fire Protection District.

Sheriff Pelton said one of the bison became aggressive and attacked one the owners. A deputy applied a tourniquet to slow the bleeding of the owner’s wound until they could be taken to the hospital.

The bison could not be corralled and began moving closer to a more populated area of St. Albans.

The sheriff said deputies euthanized the bison for the safety of the community.

As of the initial publication of this story, it’s unclear how the bison escaped.