Oklahoma Police Hunting Suspects Accused of Killing Animals in a Pet Store

Authorities are looking for two individuals accused of killing several animals inside a pet store in Oklahoma.

According to Fox News, the Oklahoma City Police Department received a report of animal cruelty at the Petland store on July 14.

A parakeet, rabbit, gerbil, and guinea pig were among the animals hurt or killed.

Surveillance footage shows two individuals-a young man and a female-arrived at the store at 3:30 p.m. and requested that a puppy be brought to them.

After seeing the puppy, the man headed to the section of the store that houses the bunnies and parakeets.

The man is also seen reaching into the rabbit enclosure and holding a rabbit down before looking around and releasing the bunny.

In another video, the man reached into a parakeet enclosure, and while the woman is not near the man, she appears to be keeping an eye out for him.

The man presumably breaks the bird's neck and carries on as he reaches inside the parakeet enclosure.

The police also observed in the video that the man grabbed a hamster and a guinea pig before walking out of the store with the woman.

The assistant manager said they found the hamster appeared to have been stomped to death; however, the guinea pig is still missing.

"Animals don't have a voice, so we have to be the voice, and we have to make sure justice is done when it's needed," said Crystal Slocum, an administrative specialist with OKC Animal Welfare told KOCO News 5.

Identity of the suspect

Newsweek has reported that the police have identified the suspect with the help of the public.

However, the authorities refused to publicly identify the two, saying that they would announce their names once they were arrested and charged.

The investigation is still ongoing, and the motives of the crime are still unknown.

The two individuals are now facing animal cruelty charges, as well as other possible crimes.

"We have them on camera and we watched them," Swanson said. "One was distracting staff while the other was doing what they were doing," Swanson told Fox25.

Anyone with information on the suspects or the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or go to www.okccrimetips.com. According to the police, tips can stay anonymous and may result in a financial reward.

Disturbing behavior

A psychologist expressed concern about the behavior of the young duo.

"Children who are intentionally harming animals is really a significant sign that that child needs professional help," Dr. Beverly Funderburk, Clinical Psychologist said, as quoted by Oklahoma's News 4.

She claims that when it comes to animals being harmed, the older they are, the more serious the problem is.

The owner of Petland says that no one has ever come into the store and abused their animals.

"We were sickened by this," Carl Swanson, Owner of Petland said. "Our staff was really impacted by this because they work with these animals. They take care of them every day, and I mean, it hurt."

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