MAINZ, Germany – A cow escaped from a slaughterhouse and headed for the grounds of Munich's Oktoberfest Tuesday, triggering a high-speed police pursuit. The bovine, which fled after a worker mistakenly left a gate open, ran through the southern German city. A 28-year old woman who was out jogging was injured by the cow. “The animal stabbed its horns into the woman’s back, who had to be brought to a hospital with massive injuries,” police spokesman Carsten Neubert told NBC News.

The 1,200-pound animal ran toward the Oktoberfest field where workers were setting up tents for the beer festival, which is due to begin in two weeks. “The cow then tried to attack another person and was luckily blocked by a police vehicle, which eventually got damaged by the impact,” Neubert said. Because the cow could not be subdued, officers eventually had to kill it with two shots from a rifle. Officials at the slaughterhouse confirmed that the meat would be disposed of and would not end up on Oktoberfest's grills. In 2011, a runaway cow called Yvonne made headlines after going on the lam for 12 weeks.

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- Andy Eckardt