Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Teen Admits Crushing 3 Kittens' Skulls With a Baseball Bat

baseball.jpg
Baseball bat via Shutterstock

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

A 16-year-old boy in Hacienda Heights admitted to a horrible act of animal cruelty: bashing the skulls of three kittens with a baseball bat before tossing them out in the garbage.The boy confessed to the kitten killings to a staff member at Wilson High School. Later on the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control followed up with the student, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Investigators returned to the boy's home and found three 2 week-old kittens with fractured skulls in the trash. The boy could face criminal charges.

Marcia Mayeda, director of the department, released a statement about the incident: "Cruelty towards animals is usually a precursor to other human-directed violence later in life. It is crucial to intervene in these types of cases early on to avoid the escalation of violent behavior."

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today