Monkeys Kill 72-Year-Old With Shower of Stolen Bricks

An elderly man is dead after a group of rogue monkeys stoned him to death by raining stolen bricks down from a tree. Per the Times of India, 72-year-old Dharampal Singh was collecting wood in Tikri, Uttar Pradesh, when his assailants began to throw their weapons, which they'd apparently stockpiled in a tree from a nearby dilapidated building. Struck in the head and chest, Singh was reportedly taken to a hospital, where he later died.

The victim's family, including a brother who told reporters the monkeys threw some 20 bricks at Dharampal, has lodged a complaint about the nuisance turned deadly. However, as Sky News reports, villagers have complained before to no avail. Defending themselves against suggestions they've failed to act, local police lamented that it's not within their power to charge animals with a crime, nor can authorities do anything that might harm the protected animals. (More monkey stories.)