MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A hotel worker has been arrested after he admitted to shooting a stray cat in the head and neck with a crossbow, police said.
Georgios Lollias, 36, of Miami Beach, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of animal cruelty.
The cat, nicknamed Strushie, was found with an arrow through the feline's head and neck on April 26 outside the Franklin Hotel in South Beach. Strushie had to be euthanized because of the injuries.
"This is a horrific case of animal abuse," animal advocate Angelo Lanza said. "He shot this cat, allegedly, with a crossbow twice in the head. And before it died, it suffered."
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 it showed Lollias walking around with a crossbow and aiming it into some bushes where Strushie was hiding.
According to the report, Lollias admitted to shooting the cat twice with the crossbow.
"It is a great relief that we have found some level of justice for Strushie," Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates said in a statement. "This was a horrific act of animal cruelty. I congratulate our detectives on this arrest and the U.S. Secret Service for the critical assistance they provided to us."
Police said other arrests may be possible in the future.
"I'm sure someone told him to do it. I mean, I don't think he would do it on his own," Lanza said.
Lollias is being held in lieu of a $30,000 bond. He also has an immigration hold, according to the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections website.
Employees at the Franklin Hotel would not comment about the case to Local 10 News.