Mom charged after boy, 2, falls into cheetah pit at Ohio zoo

CLEVELAND (AP) – A woman accused of holding her 2-year-old son over a railing at a Cleveland zoo when he fell into a cheetah exhibit has been charged with child endangering.

Michelle Schwab, of Delaware, Ohio, was charged Monday in Cleveland Municipal Court.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo says the toddler’s parents jumped in and pulled him to safety after he fell into the cheetah enclosure Saturday.

Zoo officials say the boy hurt his leg in the fall, but they say the cheetahs didn’t go toward him or his parents.

Schwab couldn’t be reached to comment on the charges. Court records did not say whether she has an attorney and there was no telephone listing for her.

The zoo says several people saw the woman holding the child over the railing.