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Man charged, accused of shooting, injuring cat
Bullet fragments were found in a cat's leg, later forcing the cat's leg to be amputated, after a man shot at the cat when it was near his car, the Brevard County Sheriff says. The man's said the cat was damaging his car. The man was charged with animal cruelty, with a bond set at $6,000.
COCOA, Fla. - After being shot in the leg – leading to the amputation of that leg – a cat, named Liam by his new owners, has recovered as the suspected shooter faces jail time.
A cat, Liam, was found with bullet fragments in his leg, leading to an amputation.
What we know:
A shooting call was reported in Cocoa back on Nov. 3.
A concerned citizen called and said they thought their neighbor just shot a cat and had some of the alleged shooting on their front door camera. The cat ran away. Neighbors started searching for him for weeks, but couldn't find him.
Brevard County deputies and animal control started investigating. The cat was found on Nov. 22, FOX 35's Esther Bower reported.
Deputies later arrested Freddie Underwood.
"A residential camera captured it on film where you could hear the gunshot, (and) saw the cat scurrying over the fence. Our agent actually found blood on the fence," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
Sheriff: Suspect claims 'cat was doing damage to his car'
According to the charging documents, Underwood admitted to firing the gun to allegedly scare the cat away after it was reportedly damaging his vehicle. The deputy told him it was illegal to discharge a firearm because it’s a residential community.
"His little story was (that) the cat was doing damage to his car," Ivey said. "No it wasn’t, you just didn’t like where the cat was so you decided to shoot it."
A Florida man, Freddie Underwood, was arrested for animal cruelty and discharging a firearm after the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said he shot at a cat allegedly near his car.
The cat was eventually located on Nov. 22. The feline was found injured and with an infection from the gunshot wound. Bullet fragments were found in his leg. Vets had to amputate the cat’s leg, but he survived.
Charges: animal cruelty and unlawful discharge of a firearm
Underwood was walked into jail on Monday and saw a judge on Tuesday for two counts relating to the incident, including animal cruelty and unlawful discharge of a firearm. A judge set his total bond at $6,000, and he won’t be allowed to have a gun when he gets out of jail.
"Mr. Underwood has no prior criminal history, no failure to appears and he’s a local resident In Brevard County," the suspect’s attorney, who argued for a lesser bond than the sheriff’s original "No Bond" warrant, said.
What's next:
One of the neighbors who reported the shooting, adopted the cat – naming him Liam. He's with his new family for the holidays.
The Source: FOX 35 Reporter Esther Bower watched the sheriff's Facebook video where he describes the case. She read the suspect's charging documents, and FOX 35 attended the court hearing on 12/23.