Two people accused of killing several animals at a Petland store in Oklahoma City have been identified thanks to tipoffs from the public, according to police.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma City Police Department had called on the public’s help in identifying the suspects filmed by a CCTV camera, according to a KOCO News 5 report.
The identities of the young man and woman seen on the footage have not been released to the public. Authorities have said the pair will be publicly identified when they have been arrested and charged.
“Animals don’t have a voice, so we have to be the voice, and we have to make sure justice is done when it’s needed,” Crystal Slocum, an administrative specialist with OKC Animal Welfare, told KOCO News 5.
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The male suspect broke the neck of a caged parakeet at a Petland store off Pennsylvania Avenue on July 13, investigators said according to the local news outlet. He then allegedly strangled a bunny and grabbed a hamster and a guinea pig before leaving the store. Staff said the female suspect acted as a lookout.
Staff later discovered the hamster stomped to death in the parking lot the next day, according to the local news report. The guinea pig was not found.
Prior to the attacks on the animals, the pair played with a puppy at the store after requesting it, according to the police report.
“For this particular case, we just need to know who these individuals are so we can talk to them about in Petland that particular day,” said OKC Animal Welfare’s Slocum.
“We are their voice, we want to make sure they are taken care of well, and we’ll do everything in our power to make sure animals in Oklahoma City are treated well,” Slocum added.
The Petland store owner Carl Swanson spoke to local channel Fox 25 about the incident.
“It was terrible for my staff and my employees,” he said. “We are heartbroken. They did it quick because we always have workers on the floor to help.
“We have them on camera and we watched them. One was distracting staff while the other was doing what they were doing.”
He also said he had never seen this kind of abuse at a store before and wondered what possible motives the suspects could have had to perpetrate the unprovoked attack.
Newsweek has contacted the Oklahoma City Police Department via email for comment.