Neighbors are reacting after a man was caught on surveillance camera allegedly trapping a cat and then killing it by setting it on fire. NBC10’s Yukare Nakayama reports.
A cat was trapped and set on fire in South Philadelphia last week, according to a spokesperson with the Philadelphia Police Department.
The incident was caught on a home surveillance camera, police said. Now, officials are trying to find he person responsible.
As you can imagine, the South Philadelphia community where this happened was shaken to hear that someone could do that to an animal.
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The ground where it happened is still visibly burned.
Neighbors told NBC10 they are especially upset knowing the person is still out there.
"That is disgusting. That’s just horrible. I don’t know how a human can even do that," one neighbor, Dominica Companaro, said.
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This happened on Sept. 11 on the 1000 block of Ritner Street in South Philadelphia, officials said.
Police got to the scene around 8:50 a.m. where they found a dead cat with burns to its body.
This violence is cutting deep for pet owners in the area.
"Particularly with us our cats are like, I mean we have kids as well but they’re like our kids so to hear something like that its very disturbing," a neighbor explained.
The block where this happened is one that prides itself on taking care of the neighborhood animals.
"Some of my neighbors actually give them cat food on my alley way and on the alleyway on the next street so I don’t know why anyone would ever do that," Companaro said.
And, as one person pointed out, it begs another question.
"If someone's going to do that to a cat, then what stops them from doing it to someone else’s house," the neighbor said. "If they can harm a pet then they can harm anybody."
The neighbors who spoke with NBC10 said they did not recognize the man.
He is described as a man of medium build with long, dark hair. He was wearing a dark jacket and denim shorts at the time of the incident.
Police are asking anyone who has seen him or knows who he is to contact them right away by calling 215-686-3013. You can also call the tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
