HARRISON TWP. — A male juvenile could be hauled into court to answer a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty accusing him of throwing a cat off a bridge and into a creek bed at a park in Northridge, Harrison Twp., recently.
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And an adult male who videotaped the incident also has charges that being reviewed by the county prosecutor’s office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post published Friday evening.
The juvenile, whose age has not been made public, has been booked into the county Juvenile Justice Center. The adult, whose name and age have not been made public because no charge has been filed, has been cooperative with sheriff’s investigators, according to the post.
News Center 7 obtained video of the juvenile, who takes a cat and launches it over his head and into a shallow creek at the park. There are a number of items in the creek the cat could have hit, including a shopping cart and a slab of rock.
“It breaks my heart,” Northridge resident David Crosby told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott, “It breaks my heart.”
McDermott showed the video to people in the community, all of whom reacted in horror.
Amanda Smith saw the video online and believed there was more than one juvenile involved.
“I felt like just nauseous. I was just kind of like ‘Oh my gosh, did that really just happen?’ "
She tipped off the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office about the juveniles because they need to be punished, she said, whether or not the cat survived.
Sheriff Rob Streck said a deputy was able to locate the cat, which suffered no apparent injuries and was back with his family.
“Causing cruelty to animals is a sign that could lead to other things in adulthood,” he said.
Smith said that after she alerted the sheriff’s office about the video, the juvenile found out and sent her a message claiming not to care about the cat or anyone else’s feelings. She showed Streck that message.
“Hurting a defenseless animal and then bragging about it, saying you know nobody can touch us nobody can do this, it’s all nonsense,” the sheriff said.
Smith, who describes herself as a concerned community member, said, “These kids need saved because obviously they have too much time on their hands.”
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