NBC News is reporting that four teenagers have been arrested for breaking into a Foster Farms facility in Caruthers, Calif. And beating more than 900 chickens to death. Fresno County police said the animals were killed with a golf club and another blunt object on Sept. 20 after the suspects entered a chicken shed by pulling back part of the facility's fence.
Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of 18-year-old Gabriel Quintero, of Riverdale; two males, ages 15 and 17, from Caruthers; and a 17-year-old male from Lemoore.
According to CNN, The suspects pulled back a portion of the fence at the Foster Farms facility in Caruthers, California, on September 20 and "once they were inside... used a golf club, we believe, (or) possibly some other type of instrument, to maliciously kill several hundred chickens," according to Deputy Chris Curtice with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department.
In a statement, Foster Farms calls the random act of violence an "unconscionable act of animal cruelty." Prior to the arrests, the company issued a statement saying it is "working with local law enforcement on their investigation into this matter and is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the persons responsible for the crime.”
Police said that local news coverage, as well as monitoring social media, helped lead to the arrests.
Source: CNN; NBC Bay Area
