Teens killed rabbits, sent Snapchat videos

RINGGOLD — Two Catoosa County teens have been charged with animal cruelty after videos of them mercilessly killing rabbits showed up on Snapchat.

According to the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office:

Matthew Allen Edmondson, 18, of Spring Meadows Drive in Ringgold, was arrested on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.

The identity of the second teen, who was arrested on the same charges, hasn’t been released because he’s a juvenile under 16 years of age.

According to witnesses, the boys were allegedly “laughing as they were cutting a live rabbit’s throat, stomping the head of a live rabbit, and taking a ball bat and hitting a rabbit,” reports show.

Deputy Elliot Welch said the boys also demanded money in the videos. “The suspects told the girl that they would continue to kill the rabbits unless people bought them for $15 each,” Welch said.

At the younger boy’s residence, detectives found 11 more rabbits alive in cages, reports show.

The case and charges were explained to the younger boy’s mother and she agreed to turn the animals over to Catoosa County Animal Control, which planned to contact a rabbit rescue group in Cartersville.

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