A cat was shot in front of its owner’s home in Fowler, New York. The man charged in the case is already out of custody, released without bail.

According to New York State Police, a Gouverneur man showed up at a home on County Route 22 on the evening of Oct. 29, searching for a cat he said had attacked him. The resident told him no cat there fit that description. Police say he kept driving by, then stopped his truck in front of the home, aimed a rifle toward the resident and one of the resident’s cats, and fired. The bullet hit the cat, which was close to both the resident and the house. He then allegedly walked onto the property, grabbed the cat and drove off.

Troopers tracked him down the next day. He now faces seven charges, including aggravated cruelty to animals, menacing, reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon tied to a previous conviction. Still, after his arraignment in Town of Fowler Court, he was released on his own recognizance.

A rifle fired toward a person and a pet, right outside a home, is not a small case. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony in New York. A charge of endangering a child’s welfare and a prior weapons conviction make the stakes even higher for everyone living nearby.

The St. Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office now decides how far this case goes. Prosecutors should pursue every charge, refuse to drop the felony animal cruelty count in a plea deal, and ask the court for protections that keep the resident safe while the case moves forward.

Sign the petition to tell the St. Lawrence County District Attorney that this case deserves full accountability, not a quiet plea deal.