Dead cat left outside Chinese-owned Sacramento butcher shop investigated as hate crime
A mutilated cat left in a box outside a Sacramento butcher shop Monday afternoon is being investigated by police as a hate crime.
Surveillance footage captured a man pulling a box from his truck outside Mad Butcher Meat Company in South Sacramento before dropping the box on the ground and driving away. The box later discovered by a customer contained the dead cat.
Mad Butcher Meat Company is run by store founders Michael, Diana and daughter Kelly Shum, who are of Chinese descent.
“It is impossible for us to fully discuss this incident without feeling an overwhelming amount of emotion,” store owners stated on social media Tuesday. “Especially with the rise of attacks on Asian-Americans recently, we are shaken and especially disappointed.”
In a statement, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Karl Chan confirmed that detectives are investigating the incident as a bias or hate-related crime, and urged anyone with further information to contact police.
Sacramento leaders condemned the incident, with Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang calling the incident “horrific” and “reprehensible” in a statement Wednesday.
“Not only was an animal violently abused, but it was used to threaten and provoke fear at an Asian American owned business in Sacramento,” Vang said in the statement. “As a city and as a community, we must work collectively to recognize the humanity of all people and stand united against all acts of hatred and bigotry. Our residents must not live in fear for their safety. I look forward to working on community-led solutions to keep us safe.”
“It’s upsetting to see this in our community,” Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, wrote Thursday on Twitter. “Across the country, there’s been a disturbing rise in harassment and violence directed towards Asian Americans. We must all speak out against this hatred, which has no place in our society.”
Incidents of violence against Asians have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the Bay Area. The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, which records anti-Asian discrimination nationwide, reported in September that it had received 2,583 self-reported incidents between March and August 2020, with more than 40% of those reports from California.
In response, California lawmakers have allocated $1.4 million to bolster research and hate-crime reporting efforts, as well as proposed a toll-free hotline and online reporting system for hate incidents.