Vigilante mob searches for serial cat killer, targets wrong California home

The incident stemmed from the arrest of Alejandro Oliveros Acosta, 45, of Santa Ana, who allegedly confessed to police about killing dozens of cats in the neighborhood. He was released from jail on Thursday after posting bond, Fox 11 reported.

Neighbors in the community said that dozens of their cats had gone missing and were later found to have been murdered in gruesome ways, such as tree hangings. As a result of Acosta's release from custody, the vigilantes intended to crash the cat vigil, believing that it was being held at Acosta's brother's home, per Fox News. The suspect lived across the street, and the vigilantes believed that Acosta was hiding out in the relative's home, according to authorities.

During the vigil, the crowd surrounded both sides of the home and began to disrupt. The group broke windows to the home and deployed pepper spray on the man living at the residence. The mob demanded that Acosta exit the home. Santa Ana Police took one hour to respond to the scene, the outlet noted.

The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told Fox 11 that he is not Acosta's brother. The victim, who explained that he has not seen or heard from Acosta since his arrest, said the alleged cat killer is related to his brother-in-law.

Authorities declared an unlawful assembly after arriving on the scene, but the vigilantes did not let up and continued chanting for the cat murderer to exit the home. Police said that Acosta was not at the targeted home.

"Last night, during a vigil related to this case, several individuals became unruly, vandalized property, and threw objects in a neighborhood. While we support the community's right to peacefully assemble, the Santa Ana Police Department will not tolerate acts of violence, vandalism, or any threats to public safety," the police department wrote in a statement on X.

Santa Ana Police said that the individuals accused of violating the law would be held accountable.

Over the past several weeks, authorities have been responding to reports of missing cats in a local neighborhood. The reports alleged that a man had been luring neighborhood cats to and around his property, where he then harmed or killed them. Santa Ana police officers took Alejandro Oliveros Acosta into custody on April 23 on animal cruelty charges, authorities said.