MIAMI LAKES, Fla. – The Miami-Dade County Police Department is investigating after someone shot a cat in the leg with a BB gun last month in Miami Lakes, authorities said.
Monica Concepcion told police that she arrived home near Lewis Road and Miami Lakeway South on Aug. 24 and found one of her pets, a white cat named Blanquito, was hurt.
"I couldn't stop crying because I couldn't imagine it's possible for someone to do that," Concepcion told Local 10 on Monday.
Concepcion rushed the nearly year-old Blanquito to the veterinarian, where X-rays showed the cat had foreign objects in his leg, police said. The veterinarian performed surgery and removed several BB pellets, police said.
Concepcion said Blanquito got an infection after the surgery, but hee finally returned home on Monday.
Derek Cintron said as soon as he found out, he and another neighbor went door-to-door with flyers.
"I think that it's horrible that someone would think to do something so cruel and unnecessary to an animal," Cintron said.
According to the flyer, another pet cat was found shot with a BB gun in the same area several months ago. However, Miami-Dade Police said they're only investigating this latest case involving Blanquito.
"You know that this was not just somebody with a low-powered BB gun trying to get a cat out of their yard. This is someone trying to inflict pain on an animal, and that's not right, and it's a sign of bad stuff, possibly, to come," Cintron said.
Residents said they want people in the Miami Lakes neighborhood to be on alert and to call police with whatever information they have.
"It's horrible ... and it needs to stop," said Susan Vega, a neighbor. "Like, who does that? I don't know. But they grow up to be serial killers."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.