This is absolutely horrific, and people responsible for senseless attacks — on animals AND people — should feel the full force of the justice system.
Instagram star cat Ponzu died in an ugly altercation earlier this month, in broad daylight at a New York City park. According to the cat’s owner, Ponzu had a heart attack after his claws were torn out during a disturbing incident that was caught on camera on Easter Sunday.
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Chanan Aksornnan, Ponzu’s devastated owner, confirmed in social media reports that she was out walking Ponzu, their dog Tofu, fellow kitty Kimchi, and their parrot Mango on Easter Sunday afternoon. Per her account, at some point, in McCarren Park, a boy suddenly “ran up and grabbed Ponzu by his leash,” and dragged the animal along the ground so hard his claws were yanked out. At some point the poor thing was apparently tossed into the air too.
WHAT. THE. F**K???
Aksornnan says she and her fiancé tried to retrieve the horrified cat and shouted at the child asking him why he’d attacked the animal. From there, it’s reported that the boy’s family — of eight people — swarmed around Aksornnan and attacked her! Video posted to social media shows them dragging her to the ground by her hair, and then kicking and punching her. One man even grabbed their dog Tofu by the tail, and yanked him backwards.
At one point, Aksornnan claims somebody from the family screamed at her (below):
“Do not yell at my kid! This is what you’ve got when you walking your f**king cat, b**ch!”
OMG!!! Would she say the same about a dog? No, of course not! And walking a cat or not, that still doesn’t justify anything. You don’t assault people, period.
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Aksornnan claims the family immediately escalated things, telling a local media outlet (below):
“The family not only did not offer any apology nor remorse. They immediately began a verbal abuse which escalated into a physical assault. I got punched and kicked by three women.”
Wow!!!
At some point in the altercation, after first being injured, Ponzu suffered a heart attack and passed away. The cat was barely three years old. So, so sad…
And it gets even worse: even after several witnesses stayed around to confirm the story, NYPD officers called to the scene at first refused to believe Aksornnan’s story, instead saying they were siding with the family and assuming the cat had attacked the child first! (Again we ask, even if that WERE true, how would that justify further ASSAULT? We’d be mad, but we wouldn’t ASSAULT someone.) When the grieving cat mother asked to press charges, they apparently tried to stop her from doing so, and threatened that it “could be used against her,” too.
Eventually, after witness video was produced, it’s reported the police conceded they had an assault on their hands.
No arrests have been made yet, but the incident is currently under investigation. Police spokesperson Jessica McRorie shared the incident report with media outlets, and it seems to confirm Aksornnan’s allegations:
“On Sunday, April 4, 2021 at approximately 1651 hours police responded to a 911 call of an assault inside of McCarren Park within the confines of the 94th Precinct. Upon arrival police were informed by a 34 year-old female that she had a dispute with an unknown Hispanic female suspect when the suspect punched and kicked the victim causing cuts and bruises. A 50 year-old male intervened in the dispute and was struck with a closed fist to his face causing a laceration to his nose. The suspect then fled the location. The suspect is described as a White Female Hispanic, 5’7″, 200 lbs, with red hair and a pony tail. There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.”
Fleeing the scene definitely doesn’t make you look innocent.
On social media, followers have taken up the cause, and #JusticeForPonzu has been used across Twitter and Instagram. Some social media users are even pointing out the fact that Ponzu’s owner was Asian, and that the excess hatred directed against Aksornnan should be seen as a hate crime.
The mourning has been very, very sad to see on social media the last couple weeks (below):
Unreal.
Truly an unimaginable thing. Honestly sick to our stomach to think of what Ponzu went through — and of what his beloved owners are now having to go through without him there.
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The family shared more updates earlier this week, too:
Our hearts are truly, completely broken…
What kind of people would do something like this?? Even if, let’s say best case scenario, the cat part was an accident, the brutal assault on the owner was NOT right. By the way, if you want to see social media video confirming the family’s attack on Aksornnan, be warned that it is graphic, violent, and disturbing — but you can do so HERE.
So sad.
R.I.P., Ponzu…
[Image via Ponzu Cool Cat/Instagram/Reddit]
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