Sickos film live opossum they set on fire — while laughing with delight: ‘One of the most heinous cases'
A group of sickos filmed themselves lighting a helpless opossum on fire and then giggling with delight as it burned — with cops teasing an update Friday after being flooded with tips.
The distressing video shows them dousing the terrified creature with fuel and lighting it on fire as it's pinned against a fence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
They scream and laugh as the opossum, engulfed in flames, writhes in pain for over a minute before keeling over, seemingly dead, the video shows.
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4 A video of a opossum being set on fire while a group of people watched it burn has gone viral.
WCNC
4 The opossum writhed in pain for over a minute before keeling over, seemingly dead.
WCNC
'It was one of the most heinous cases we've heard of recently,' Kevin Chambers from Animal Wellness Action told WCNC while offering a $5,000 reward.
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Authorities have scheduled an update on the case for 1:30 p.m. Friday, having earlier said the disturbing attack could lead to felony charges.
They have yet to confirm the poor opossum died.
The horrific video went viral locally after being posted last week on Facebook, with local law enforcement agencies saying they were swamped with tips — saying they no longer needed more and had enough 'to move forward.'
4 The animal was doused with fuel and and lit on fire while pinned against a fence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
WCNC
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4 According to Kristofer Blankenship, a senior officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, the incident is 'under investigation, but this is looking like it's going to be a felony matter of animal cruelty.'
WCNC
At least three people appear to be involved in the torture, authorities said.
'It's under investigation, but this is looking like it's going to be a felony matter of animal cruelty,' Kristofer Blankenship, a senior officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, told WCNC.
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