Cats in Phoenix being attacked by someone with blow-dart gun

Somebody is targeting cats in east Phoenix.

“We’re asking cat owners to keep an eye on their pets and keep them indoors if at all possible,” Phoenix Police Detective Jemima Schmidt said.

In a neighborhood near 32nd Street just north of Thomas Road, animal rescue groups, including the Humane Society, have rescued young felines that were purposefully injured Oct. 2-16.

Cats have been appearing with darts protruding from their heads and, unfortunately, not all have survived.

“Somebody is crafting handmade blow darts, which are being shot from a blow-dart gun and being used to injure cats,” Schmidt, with the animal cruelty detail, said.

The blow darts, she said, were created out of a variety of materials, including nails and wire.

And while there was a colony of feral cats in the area, some of the victims were family pets.

Schmidt called the crime “atrocious.”

“Darting an animal then leaving that animal to roam around alive with the dart protruding from its skull is cruel,” she said.

Numerous blow darts have been found in the area and investigators want to know if you’ve found any or if you’ve seen anyone practicing with a blow-dart gun.

Read more about the crime.

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