Berkeley police investigate animal cruelty case after 5 animals found shot

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- An animal cruelty investigation is underway in the East Bay after nearly half a dozen animals were found dead. They all turned up at the Berkeley Marina on Seawall Drive.

The area is a peaceful place where people come for the view and to commune with nature. But on Saturday afternoon, a groundskeeper found five animals, a possum, three raccoons, and a feral cat lying along the rocks and in the road south of the pier.

They were suffering from some mysterious ailment or injury and were foaming at the mouth. The animals ended up at a Berkeley shelter.

"They later did a necropsy and discovered there were some BB pellets inside of them," said Berkeley police Officer Byron White. "From the police department's point of view, this is cruelty to animals. It's a serious offense."

It's a felony. All the animals died. One was euthanized.

"It definitely worries me that there's somebody out there who could be using animals as target practice," White said.

"How could anyone be cruel to animals The most innocent beings? For someone to take out aggression on them is inexcusable," said one woman in Berkeley.

Police are asking for the public's help in reporting any other animals or any people seen carrying a weapon.