Rodeo bulls escape from a mall and trample through Massachusetts yards

It’s the run of the bulls – right through your garden!

The East Coast was briefly reminiscent of the Wild West on Sunday afternoon when eight bulls escaped from a rodeo pen in the parking lot of a Massachusetts shopping center without, miraculously, anyone being injured – but one is still on the run.

A shocking video shows the moment a herd of bulls charged past the rodeo fence at Emerald Square Mall.

They ran through the crowded parking lot, collided with a tent, and then wandered toward US Highway 1. The wild animals then evaded toward the forest, where the first of the eight escapees was quickly caught.

“Community members should exercise extreme caution and not approach any bull,” the North Attleboro Fire Department said in a warning to the community on Sunday.

North Attleboro Fire and Police Departments, along with Massachusetts Environmental Police, searched for the rest of the herd with assistance from members of the New England Rodeo in Norton and members of the rodeo at the mall.

The herd made its way through the woods and toward the residential areas of Attleboro, bringing an unexpected – and unwelcome – visit to some residents’ farms.

Another six bulls became trapped behind a fence in front of a house in Attleboro around 4:30 p.m. They were all easily guided into a trailer, but one of the bulls still fled.

“When I went out and looked out there, I immediately thought, ‘Those aren’t horses, those are literally bulls,’ and ‘oh my God,'” Attleboro resident Chris Mooney told NBC Connecticut.

“Two of them were lying there, another was trying to escape through the fence, and the others were just sitting there.”

Others, however, showed understanding for the plight of the cattle, but were at the same time grateful that the animals were taken away from their neighborhood unharmed.

“At first I just felt sorry for the bulls’ lives. I figured they escaped for a reason,” Gee Sounthonevat, a neighbor of the homeowner who accidentally captured six of the bulls, told NBC Connecticut.

Rescue workers are still searching for the only missing bull. The festival rodeo from which the eight escaped, which was a one-day event, has been canceled and the cause of the prison break is under investigation.