A spooked elephant killed its trainer at a Shriner circus in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. "In 30 years I've been doing my vending, I've never heard an animal killing their trainer and all," said a balloon vendor. The show will go on.

Circus members observed a moment of silence for the elephant handler who died, WBRE reported. The circus, however, made a decision almost immediately after the death that the performance would go on.

PETA, meanwhile, issued a statement saying the accident "should come as no surprise" given circuses' track records with animal abuse. [CNN, Getty photo for illustrative purposes only. The photographed elephant is performing a trick, and, to the best of our knowledge, did not injure anyone.]