A Los Angeles County man was arrested after he allegedly stoned a beloved Southern California bird to death, despite horrified onlookers asking him to stop.
"It was just shock and anger, like, 'What the hell is wrong with you?'" Kaylyn Danica, who witnessed the incident, told KTLA.
Jeremy Jansen, 36, and one other man were allegedly spotted throwing rocks on Oct. 23 at ducks at Lake Gregory in Crestline, California, as reported by KTLA.
Donica, who recorded the incident on her phone, noticed what they were doing while fishing with a friend at the lake. She said she began asking the two men to stop.
While they initially stopped, they began the activity again about 20 minutes later, after one of the men spotted what he believed to be "a crane." It was actually a Great Egret, famous in Southern California due to being a symbol of wetland conservation, and the chosen symbol of the National Audubon Society, according to Bird Watching Daily.
Donica began filming the incident on her cell phone. In the footage she captured, Jansen can allegedly be seen throwing a large rock at the Great Egret, initially missing. On his second attempt, he successfully struck the bird, knocking it over into the water.
A third man who had been accompanying the other two men walked over to the bird and scooped it out of the water. Donica told the outlet. "I guess he determined it was really hurt and put it out of misery."
Jansen was arrested and booked into West Valley Detention Center on animal cruelty related charges.
"Something needs to happen. He needs to have repercussions," Donica told KTLA. "You don't just go around and do whatever you want."
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