LONG BEACH, California (9 Nov 2004) -- Four Long Beach teenagers were arrested early today for allegedly breaking into the Aquarium of the Pacific, where they are accused of torturing and killing two sharks and a sting ray. The incident at the popular tourist attraction left aquarium officials and city leaders in shock. The suspects, three 13-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy, allegedly pulled the fish out of their tanks late Sunday or early Monday, stabbing and pounding them with plastic pipes. They were left for dead at various places around the aquarium area. Detectives believe the teens also placed smaller bamboo sharks into the tank reserved for larger sharks, where they would have likely been eaten had it not been at night when the bigger fish were sleeping. | | The teens were arrested late Monday when they broke into the aquarium for a second time and headed back to the shark lagoon. One of the dead sharks, a 3-foot chocolate brown Nurse Shark named Michelle, had been at the aquarium since it opened six years ago and was a popular attraction. SOURCE - LA Times |
