LAKEWOOD, Colo. Lakewood police chased ,shot and killed a buffalo Saturday afternoon that somehow got loose and eluded officers for several hours.

The buffalo got loose at about 11 a.m. Police spent more than an hour trying to corner the bison at one point near 6th Avenue and keep it under control until the owner could come to retrieve the animal, but it escaped.

Just after 2 p.m., police trapped and then shot the large animal. That happened at Kyffen Elementary near 1st Ave. and Flora Way.

Several people in this neighborhood spotted the animal walking near his home at 6th and Indiana shortly before 1 p.m.

It wasn't immediately clear where the buffalo escaped from.

A mature female bison weighs 1,100 pounds and a bull can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.

Lakewood police animal control officer Michael Brogran said the young animal did minor damage to a couple of cars and that no one was hurt.