The man killed after entering a tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster, England, has been identified locally as William Chapman, per The Guardian. Chapman scaled the fence and entered the enclosure, following which witnesses saw him walking up to a 200kg male Siberian tiger named Altai, which attacked him.
The incident lasted only a couple of minutes. Chapman, believed to be in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Who was William Chapman?
Chapman was a former child actor, AOL reported. He appeared in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, known for her portrayal of Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films. He also took on the role of a young Edward Jenner in the BBC series True Stories.
A blog entry penned by Chapman's mother over 12 years ago described him as being "passionate about acting and drama". From the age of four, he trained at The Jackie Palmer Stage School, a performing arts institution in High Wycombe.
After it was confirmed that Chapman was the victim of the tiger attack, the drama school published a tribute on their Facebook page.
{{/usCountry}}After it was confirmed that Chapman was the victim of the tiger attack, the drama school published a tribute on their Facebook page.
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“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former student, William Chapman,” it wrote. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with William’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us. It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.”
“William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, William,” it added.
Chapman’s mother revealed in the blog that he worked as an extra on Pan, a prequel to the Peter Pan tale starring Hugh Jackman, which proved a “wonderful experience for him”.
The blog entry also included an extract penned by Chapman at the time.
"Once on set we were sheltering from the pirates under the ship's floorboards and we had to be terrified! Our chief gets shot by Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), so remember to look out for that scene if you watch the movie,” he said.
"After lunch we just did more tutoring then we went back on set for a retake of the earlier scene, but we were lucky enough to meet and say hi to Hugh Jackman! We gave him a high five, awesome right?" he added.
Chapman’s family said in a statement after his death that he “suffered from significant mental illness,” and described him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man.”
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“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” said the family. “The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this. William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.”
They added, “Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.”