The people in the cafe were under lockdown because they thought up to 4 tigers were loose, and refused to open the door for him.
But the whole case comes down to: "A tiger (which had mauled someone the year before) escaped from a facility that was inadequate to start with".
The tiger has an early history, too:
"Even as a cub, Tatiana was noted for her "quick tempered" personality compared to her more mellow siblings".
Zoo personnel dispatch now say there are two males who the zoo thinks ... are 800 (code for mentally disturbed) and making something up ... but one is in fact bleeding from the back of the head,” according to a police log entry at 5:10 p.m.
Geragos acknowledged the brothers were frantic and visibly shaken when they tried to report what happened. “They say they were acting crazy. ... I don’t know how one is supposed to act after being attacked by a tiger,” Geragos said.
By the time fire officials arrived at the scene at 5:12 p.m., they already knew a tiger was on the loose. Fire crews were told that zoo security had called a “Code One, meaning they can’t let anyone into the zoo,” according to the fire log.
The medical crews were let in under police escort, and by 5:20 p.m. they found Sousa’s body, according to police dispatch logs.
After reporting the incident at the cafe and to the guard, the brothers were attacked again by the tiger as they were waiting outside the cafe for someone to help. Geragos said it was about 45 minutes from the time the three young men were first attacked until help finally arrived.