Man arrested after his Bengal tiger seen roaming freely in US neighbourhood

A US man, who was earlier freed on bond from a murder charge, was again taken into custody on Monday after neighbours complained of a pet tiger roaming around a neighbourhood in Houston.

The Bengal tiger was seen roaming freely in front of the houses in Houston, Texas in a 54-second video shared on social media.

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Houston police confirmed on Twitter that the tiger was moving around and his male owner was escorting him. 

The police said Victor Hugo Cuevas was back in custody, charged with felony evading arrest.

Cuevas was believed to be the owner of the tiger, according to the police, but the accused's attorney questioned such claims. 

Police also said that the video of the encounter showed that the tiger came face-to-face with an armed off-duty Waller County sheriff's deputy. 

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The deputy shouted at Cuevas to take the animal back inside. 

No shots were fired during the encounter. 

When more police cops came in, Cuevas put the tiger inside a white Jeep Cherokee and went away, Houston police Cmdr. Ron Borza in a news conference said on Monday, according to Associated Press.

Cuevas was charged with murder of killing a man outside a restaurant in 2017 and was out on bond.