Surveillance video shows suspect shoot euthanized cat with crossbow

Georgios Lollias arrested after Secret Service helps police recover video

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Local 10 News has obtained surveillance video that police said shows a Miami Beach hotel employee shooting a cat with a crossbow.

The video, obtained exclusively by Local 10 News on Thursday, shows the man, identified by police as Georgios Lollias, wander into frame, carrying a crossbow and seemingly looking around before he points the weapon into some bushes. The cat can be seen running out of the bushes and out of the camera's sight, with the man following behind the wounded animal.

The cat, nicknamed Strushie, was found last month with an arrow through the feline's head and neck outside the Franklin Hotel in South Beach. Strushie had to be euthanized because of the injuries.

Lollias was arrested earlier this month on a charge of animal cruelty.

According to a Miami Beach police report, surveillance video from the hotel's security cameras appeared to have been deliberately deleted, so police enlisted the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service to help them recover the footage.

Police said Lollias later admitted to shooting the cat with the crossbow.

"The video is absolutely horrifying, but we are very thankful for (the officer) and the Secret Service's effort in obtaining this evidence," animal advocate Stephen Fox said. 

Animal advocates believe someone put Lollias up to killing the cat.

"We're hoping that the investigation will continue and find the other actors who were involved and hold them responsible," Fox said.