American Woman Killed by Lion Attack in South African Safari Park

A lion killed a 29-year-old American woman and injured a man at a wildlife park in South Africa early Monday.

The attack took place at Lion Park – a wildlife park located between Johannesburg and Pretoria that offers self-driven and guided tours.

The woman – who ABC News has identified as Katherine Chappell – was riding in the passenger seat of an SUV taking photos when a lion jumped through the open window and mauled her, Johannesburg’s Eye Witness News reports. The driver, a tour guide, was injured while trying to rescue the woman.

“They had their windows all the way down, which is strictly against policy,” Scott Simpson, assistant operations manager at Lion Park told the Associated Press. “The lion bit the lady through the window.”

While park staff were able to chase the lion away, Simpson told ABC News that the woman died while receiving treatment from emergency services.

“We can confirm that a U.S. citizen was killed in Lion Park in Johannesburg on June 1,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to PEOPLE. The spokesperson added that they are providing all possible services, but would not comment further out of respect for the privacy of the family.

PEOPLE has reached out to Lion Park for comment.

Lion Park was featured in a November 60 Minutes story as one of dozens of parks in South Africa where tourists pay to pet lion cubs. The story alleged that once these lions reach maturity, they are sold off for “canned hunts” – where people pay to shoot lions in an enclosed area – as they are too dangerous to be around tourists.