Ohio prosecutor reviews Cincinnati Zoo case

Thane Maynard, director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, speaks during a news conference, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. A gorilla named Harambe was killed by a special zoo response team on Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and it was concluded his life was in danger. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (The Associated Press)

A boy brings flowers to put beside a statue of a gorilla outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. A gorilla named Harambe was killed by a special zoo response team on Saturday after a 4-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and it was concluded his life was in danger. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (The Associated Press)

CINCINNATI – An Ohio prosecutor could soon decide whether to pursue charges against parents of a 3-year-old boy who got into the Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla exhibit, leading to the fatal shooting of an endangered gorilla to protect the child.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters (DEE'-turz) office said Thursday he is reviewing the Cincinnati police investigation of the family's actions in last Saturday's incident.

Deters could make a decision as early as Friday.

Legal experts have said that prosecution seems unlikely. The family has declined comment.

The zoo plans to reopen Gorilla World on June 7 with a higher, reinforced barrier. The boy apparently climbed over the outer barrier before falling some 15 feet into a shallow moat. A special response team shot the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla to protect the boy.