Cats shot with .22
Napa, CA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 11, 2003
County: Napa
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Jittery residents of a neighborhood in the city of Napa have posted a $10,000 reward to find information about snipers who have fatally shot three cats and wounded six others in the last month.
Napa Police Officer Ken Chapman said a resident of the Alta Heights area, in the eastern part of the city, spotted two men wearing hooded sweatshirts driving a white Toyota Tundra pickup truck on Oct. 11. One man was leaning out of the passenger window and pointing a rifle toward the houses in the middle- class neighborhood.
"We want to catch these guys, and this is a tattletale case -- we need someone to talk and grow a conscience," Chapman said. "We're doing extra patrols in the neighborhood and want to reassure the residents of their safety."
All the feline victims were shot with .22-caliber bullets -- most of them around midnight -- in a 10-square-block area in mid-October. Many of the injuries were to the head or neck.
Spring Street resident Joe Fischer, 39, said he lost his orange-colored tabby on Oct. 11. He and his wife Karen, 35, heard their 4-year-old cat, Jerry, crying from where he lay under their truck. They rushed him to an emergency clinic, but he died the next morning -- the path of the bullet clear in the X-ray.
"The guys apparently drove around seeking out cats by their reflective eyes and then took aim. All I can say is I hope those guys are caught," Fischer said. "I think part of their punishment should be working with injured and dying animals so they can experience the kind of agony they inflicted on their victims."
Several Bay Area animal rights groups also contributed to the reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprits. Fischer estimated that about $6,000 has been spent by residents on veterinary care.
King Street resident Michelle Mecchi said she and her two children found her Siamese cat Cotton injured on the deck on Oct. 15. She said her vet found another wound and believes a bullet entered in the cat's hind leg and exited from his stomach. Cotton is recuperating, but Mecchi keeps her other two cats inside as much as possible.
Mecchi said neighbors are vigilant and have circulated flyers. Still, she worries about armed men in her neighborhood. "Everyone here is on high alert. It is not a good thing to have someone going through the neighborhood shooting -- at anything."
One cat was shot in the jaw, requiring surgery and a special diet. Another injured cat lost an eye and had a broken hind leg. A third cat's hindquarters were paralyzed by a bullet in his spine; now he has to drag himself around -- both in the house and outside.
One of the cats, known as Kitty Doe, was discovered dead by a resident Oct. 13. No one has claimed the body, which was taken to Animal Kingdom Veterinary Services.
"It has completely changed the way I behave in my own neighborhood," said Karen Provenza, whose 12-year-old cat Mickey was shot in the jaw.
Chapman said this is an unusual felony crime for Napa. He urged anyone with information to call the Napa Police Department at (707) 257-9223. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Napa Police Department
(707) 257-9223
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