U.S. Man Paralyzed in Mock Bullfight

An American man was seriously wounded in a mock bullfight after the first running of the bulls in Pamplona, and seven other people were gored or trampled by the massive beasts.

Ray Ducharme, a 31-year-old bond trader from Charlotte, N.C., was injured in what is known as a vaquilla, in which hundreds of people chase five cows around a ring, pulling their ears and tails. The cows are smaller than fighting bulls and have less imposing horns, but they still weigh hundreds of pounds.

Ducharme was thrown by a young cow. He underwent a 90-minute operation to reattach two vertebrae. “He is paralyzed in the legs and will have partial use of his arms,” said Pello Pellejero, a Pamplona government spokesman.