A man has been arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty after he allegedly shot and killed a dog from a second story balcony with a pellet rifle.
Johansen Concepcion De La Ros, 19, was arrested in Davie, Florida, after he allegedly used the rifle to shoot an 8-month-old dog named Princess.
Police responded to a call on Sept. 29 at around 6:33 p.m., they said in a statement.
Concepcion De La Ros was on a balcony when he saw a couple walking their six-pound dog on a path around a lake, according to a police statement.
Concepcion De La Ros told his friend that he was going to shoot the dog, according to police.
“De La Ros had a high powered pellet rifle with a scope. He took a knee, lined up the cross hairs, and took a shot killing the little dog,” police said.
Princess was walking behind her owner, Roshelle Pearson, 43, and Pearson’s boyfriend when she was shot.
“I turned to look at her and there was blood coming out of her mouth, so I picked her up, and the witness pulled over to tell me he saw the guy on the balcony kneel, scope my puppy and pull the trigger,” Pearson told ABC News.
“She bled from her mouth and died in my arms,” said Pearson. “She whimpered and would not break eye contact with me as blood poured out of her mouth.”
An off-duty Pembroke Pines policeman who was in the area witnessed the attack, according to a statement from police.
After responding to the call, police said they recovered the rifle. Princess was taken to an animal hospital, but the pellet traveled through her chest, killing her.
Pearson said that her family had owned Princess, who was eight months old, since she was a 12-week-old puppy, and that the dog belonged to Pearson’s 8-year-old daughter.
“She was like a child to me,” said Pearson. “My children have cried for days for her.”
The attack on the dog happened less than a day after Pearson and her family moved to Florida from Wisconsin.
“We had been in the state less than 24 hours. I do not know him and I have no idea why he would shoot a tiny puppy,” Pearson said of alleged shooter De La Ros.
ABC News was unable to contact Concepcion De La Ros.
Concepcion De La Ros was released on bail on Sunday after he paid a $2,500 bond. A Broward County court official told ABC News that there has been no lawyer assigned to him, and a date for him to appear in court has not been set.
Pearson said that she believes in justice, but now fears for her family’s safety after Concepcion De La Ros was released on bond.
“I believe in the judicial system and I hope that he always remembers my tiny puppy caked in her own blood because of his poor decisions, and the trauma he has caused my family,” Pearson said.
