BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police say officers shot a cow that had escaped from a city slaughterhouse on a downtown street.

Sgt. Sarah Connolly, a police spokeswoman, says the animal was shot shortly after 10:15 a.m. in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, home to numerous bars, restaurants and shops.Connolly says she believes the animal was killed, but that hasn't been confirmed. She says it no longer poses a threat. Police believe it escaped from a slaughterhouse in west Baltimore.Connolly says police received calls from business owners concerned about the animal running loose on the streets.