Arkansas: Police investigating teenagers who recorded themselves abusing animals

ARKANSAS -- There is outrage on social media after allegations of animal cruelty. A post on a juvenile’s Instagram led to messages pouring in to both our THV11 newsroom and to our THV11 reporters.

People in the Sheridan community are outraged over social media posts that are going viral.

THV11 viewers say they disgusted by what they show: a teenager squatting in a truck bed, with a rifle, and what he says, is a dead dog strangled by the neck. 

The caption reads “You’ve been a very bad dog.”

The photo has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.

In a second post, another teenager appears to be throwing a cat, by the tail, into a fan about seven feet off the ground. In the video, the cat runs away after landing on concrete. Many are concerned that cat is either in need of medical attention or may be dead.

We are choosing not to share the photo or video, because of their graphic content.

We reached out to the Grant County sheriff’s office, because so many of you wanted to know if police are investigating. We heard those concerns and reached out to authorities for answers.

Sheriff Ray Vance told us there’s an active investigation taking place. He said he can’t make a comment on the case, but will submit the case to the prosecutor’s office. That office will decide if and what charges will be filed. He also confirmed the two individuals are juveniles.

“We are deeply disturbed and hurt by the video that was forwarded to our rescue and another local rescues anonymously. We shared the video and picture in hopes someone from that area would have more information on the individuals involved,” said Carolyn Criner Shuff and Tina Bohannan, who shared the video and photo to Facebook. “We also wanted to bring to light these horrific acts so the proper authorities could be alerted.”

We here at THV11 will be following this story closely and will bring you any updates as they become available.

(THV11 - Jan 7, 2017)