Police in Fort Lauderdale said they have located the child seen in now-viral video violently stomping on a duck in January, killing the animal.
Police said they began to investigate the disturbing incident on Jan. 18 after a homeowner saw a child cornering, then stomping the wild duck to death on her property via a Ring camera.
Police said they, too, watched the video, and confirmed the homeowner’s account.
The investigation has been ongoing ever since, and on Thursday police said they identified the children, as well as their parent.
“The Fort Lauderdale Police Department would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our community for their assistance,” police said in a statement.
Police said that they received tips from the public via social media that helped investigators identify “these at-risk juveniles, allowing us to provide intervention along with our partners at the Department of Children and Families.”
The investigation is still active and ongoing, police said.
Neighbors “horrified” after video showed child stomping duck to death
A man who lives near where the incident took place said he was horrified by what the video showed.
“I think the kid maybe has been abused or something. Because of that, they need to look into who the parents are,” the resident told CBS News Miami back in January. “I think that’s the most important thing because, I don’t know, I think maybe he has seen something that has caused a lot of trauma for him to be capable of doing something like that, that’s, I have no words. I don’t even know what to say. That’s terrible.”
After the incident, Fort Lauderdale police patrols were increased in the area.
