Buddy and Ollie attacked St. James simultaneously; one chimp initially attacked St. James’s face, the other attacked his foot. The sanctuary owner’s son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, retrieved a 45-caliber revolver and shot Buddy in the head. Meanwhile, Ollie dragged St. James’s body down a walkway. Carruthers followed and killed Ollie by gunshot.

The chimpanzees destroyed a majority of St. James’s fingers, his left foot, most of his buttocks, both testicles, part of his torso, and parts of his face including his nose and his lips.