SALEM, Ore. — Editor's note: The details of this story may be disturbing to some people. The video above includes home surveillance footage showing the incident, but it does not show the cat getting shot.
A Salem family is heartbroken after losing their cat to a senseless act. The Steele family's home surveillance cameras caught a group of people shooting and killing their cat outside their home last week.
Salem police have opened an animal abuse investigation.
"People took advantage of her trust," said owner Jesse Steele.
The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on Friday. Surveillance video shows what appears to be a group of young people notice the cat, Vortex, on the corner of the street. After a short time, another person joins the group and pulls out what appears to be some type of long-barreled gun, and then shoots the cat.
"She was flopping on the ground, and then there were like five different kids who were just like this around her with their phones taking videos, as if it was some entertainment," Steele said with his hands up as if he were holding a cell phone.
About a minute later, the recording shows the same person take a second, point-blank shot. Then the group runs off before returning moments later to pick up the cat's lifeless body and move it to a neighbor's yard.
"They thought no one was gonna be awake to discover that," Steele said. "We had the cameras and all that, but I couldn't imagine if it was somebody else's house who doesn't wake up until late and didn't have cameras and all they saw was a dead cat. Their cat."
Officers have not arrested anyone. Salem police said the investigation is ongoing and they are not releasing any addition information at this time.
Any witnesses who have not spoken with police should call the Salem police non-emergency line at 503-588-6123 and refer to case number SMP24-39245.