I don't understand how people can be so cruel.

It breaks my heart that anyone can be so cruel as to seriously harm a helpless creature. That this was done by young children is just scary, and make me wonder what these kids will "graduate" to as they grow older. I hope the kitten recovers and finds a wonderful home, and I hope the abusers receive significant punishment.

I think people who set animals on fire need to feel what its like to be burned alive themselves!!! A slap on the wrist and house arrest will not teach them anything.

Where are their parents??? Like I really need to ask that question...

i would have gone up to the kids and stopped the abuse. if the cat was on fire, i would have probably been in jail after having my way with those kids. I pray no kid lets me see this being by them, i fear my reaction to seeing such pure hate.

It's really sad that this is happening. They say some children don't know right from wrong but something like this is unexcusable. I feel so sad for this kitten and hope that she sees a full recovery and finds a loving home with good people. Those children will get what is coming to them. Kharma

What in the world is wrong with people? How would they like if someone threw rocks at them and set them on fire. They wouldn't like that too much.When the kids are found their parents need to be fined.

It is sad and disgusting to see that children today have no respect for anything. To torture something for pure enjoyment is sadistic. I would be devasted if my child did anything like this. Maybe we need to slow down and sit with our kids a little more often and teach them what right and wrong is and to respect all living things.

this crime is a copy cat, lets get together and track these kids down like we did with the the dog being burned. Lets set another example for these sick souls. Baltimore sun, give us the location where this happened!!!

These kids have nothing else better to do these days. Like I said before make these parents be held accountable for their children acts. Enough fines handed out to there parents and they will get the message.

I was so distressed by this report that I could hardly read the article after viewing the horrible photo of this poor little animal. What is more helpless than an animal--especially a domestic animal whose instincts are to trust humans? Would could cause such sadistic behavior on the part of any human being?

Our political leaders should strongly speak out against such atrocities, and strong measures need to taken to prevent their recurrence. Rewards should be made available to find the cruel and cowardly individuals who did this and they should be punished in proportion to the violence and harshness of what they did..

This absolutely breaks my heart that
1. this poor kitten suffered so much and
2. these children don't realize how wrong and cruel their actions are.
I hope and pray their parents will discipline them and teach them to have respect for life.

What are these kids thinking of. This has gone too far and the judge needs to prosecute these kids to the fullest extent of the law. This is the most horrifying thing I have every seen a kid to. What next? I hope that kitten makes it. I wouldn't mind adopting the little one if it makes it and give it a loving home.

It all starts at home, if the kids are not taught to respect themselves and others by their so-called parents what do you expect. You will probably read about these very same kids killing some innocent person when they become older.

I am with Allen. I think the Sun should publish the address. If we can't find the kids then at least give someone the opportunity to pick-up any loose animals in the area.

You have got to be kidding me? What is wrong with these kids? And to catch her and set her on fire a 2nd time as well. You know today they torture animals, tomorrow they kill people. I say INCREASE or make the penalty for such an act so severe that not only they LEARN that the consequences are bad, but the public and anyone hearing about it never thinks to try it. SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES, not just animal cruelty.

As much as the kids are to blame for this, and I'm glad the concerned citizen called in, I have to wonder if other neighbors could have, and should have, done more to physically stop these kids from torturing the kitten. Throwing bricks makes noise - surely somebody else would have heard this, right?

Bad people take over when good people refuse to act...or not even care.

This is why we should offer birth control measures to inner city parents who can't raise kids!!! lets pay people to get fixed so these kids arn't being raised to hate!!!

Typical baltimore kids who lack parental guidance. I am all for putting birth control in the water.

Those kids need to be found, evaluated by a psychiatrist, and have their information and fingerprints put into the system. Behavior such as this is often indicates that the child will be violent as an adult and engage in even worse antisocial behavior. Now they torture cats but when they get older they will be hurting people.

What I did on my summer vacation .....

"We chase a cat and have lots of funn."

See you later in Superior Court, kids! You will have lots of funn in prison, too.

Perhaps the NFL will invite these kids to play football.

Years ago Col. Margaret Patton of the Baltimore Police Department started up a program to identify children who are cruel to animals because of a proven link to domestic violence as adults later on. I don't know what happened to that program but it was effective, at least in identifying the kids, and it should be revived.
I also think that juvenile records should not be expunged at age 18. The records need to be held and referred to.

This is so unfair. My mom's cat went through the same thing 9 years ago and we had to have her put to sleep because of little monsters like these. That is why my mother keeps her only two remaining cats in the house out of this fear.

Can we set those who set animals on fire aflame as well?

The Sun did publish the area...Garrison Ave, which means between Reisterstown Rd and Greenspring Ave. Probably right around Pimlico.

You really think the parents care? They have low incomes and low education levels. This is a product of a city that has nothing to offer - poor education, few jobs. If Pimlico had been saved years ago - slots maybe? - do you think this immediate neighborhood would be better off? No jobs, less taxes, less education. Fining the parents is pointless, you have to solve the problems at the root - jobs and education. Only then will you start seeing a reduction in crimes at all levels. Stop worrying about the kitten and focus on the bigger picture.

Baltimore City, a city that I love and call home, is in a sad state. Just looking at the headlines this morning has really dampened my mood, to put it mildly. There is a common theme here: a general lack of respect for life and a pervasive selfishness. In the last 48 hours alone, a woman has been killed by criminals attempting evading capture, and an animal was burned for no reason.

Baltimore is so depressing. I am so sorry I came here and should have left a long time ago.

i would like to think that i would leave my house screaming and making a scene to chase after those kids, but i guess you never really know what you will do until faced with the situation. the real criminals are those who tortured and set the cat on fire. we live in a world that teaches hate and fails to teach our children love and respect. only WE have the power to regain what is lost.

If someone had set a young child, who cannot speak or protect itself, on fire there would be outrage, speeches and rallys. If someone does the same thing to an animal that cannot speak or protect itself many people consider it a shame or don't care at all. Shame on people who don't take this act of violence seriously. An act of violence this cruel speaks volumes about someone's lack of respect for others in general and what they have the potential for.

Whomever was responsible for the kitten's suffering should experience something similar. That's the only way some people, I don't want to even call them people, some monsters learn.

The kids that burned Phoenix should have been charged, as adults, with felony animal cruelty. Typical Baltimore style, slap on the wrist, does nothing to deter the continued behavior. I truly hope that the new animal cruelty task force is able to have some positive impact. But it has to be acknowledged that there is something fundamentally wrong with a human who gains pleasure from inflicting such pain on a living creature, animal or human.

I think it's about time people stop noting the proverbial "where are the parents...fine the parents" These kids are sociopaths. They are surrounded by sociopaths and motivated by lynch mob mentality. There is no parenting going on here. This is what happens when drugs and poverty and insanity are left to fester. A generation of children are being raised lacking in basic empathy -lacking in basic ability to feel pain.

It has been correctly noted that this kind of violence will only lead to crimes like domestic abuse and worse in the future.

These kids need to be in therapy, yesterday. Locking them up won't help, they'll come out and abuse and kill more, it's all they know. On the contrary, prison will only validate their actions. Of course they need punishment, but only with therapy will they ever learn to feel pain, learn to understand what they are doing is wrong, and perhaps even come to feel badly about what they've done.

And yes, teenagers in our city have to be taught about and have to be issued birth control. Twelve and Thirteen year olds cannot and should not raise babies. This is the result of such "parenting."

Because the animal cruelty in this city/state/country are a joke, nothing will happen to these little brats. In an ideal world, they'd be set on fire too (along with their idiot parents), but I digress...

I'm also upset about the witness who apparently saw these kids messing with the cat and pour liquid on it. The report says she turned around and then when she turned around again, the cat was on fire. Why didn't she run over and confront these kids BEFORE it got to the setting-on-fire part? I hope she's ashamed of herself.

More cruel, heartless humans!

Before people vilify the witness for failure to act, consider that these "kids" could have easliy turned on her - Thinking about my own actions in such a situation, I don't know that I would have been able to stand up to a mob of twelve year old boys as a petite woman.

Not only should the kids be punished, but their parents as well. This behavior started somewhere. I hope these type of people stop "breeding". I can't wait to get out of Maryland.

It's many people you can blame for this. Unfortunately, it's going to only get worse. They talk of shutting down recreation centers. When they do that children run the streets freely, because they have nothing to do or nowhere to go. You have parents that just don't care what their children do. They only worry about getting a check. This issue is not just for one race, its for all races. It's happening everywhere. Simply, if the parents don't care, then the children don't care. The crime rate is about to soar even higher !

Can we please just give Baltimore the Hiroshima treatment and get it over with.

This story made me sick. What is the matter with people today? Children setting a cat on fire, twice? There is NO empathy taught by parents, someone needs to teach these kids right from wrong. I hope that everyone who reads this contacts their officials and DEMANDS that this must be stopped. Do you know that Baltimore does not have animal cops like the show on Animal Planet? People need to start raising hell and letting officials know that this WILL NOT be tolerated.

To Anonymous who posted this: Fining the parents is pointless, you have to solve the problems at the root - jobs and education. Only then will you start seeing a reduction in crimes at all levels. Stop worrying about the kitten and focus on the bigger picture.

To say stop worrying about the kitten is ridiculous. Why would being educated make someone NOT abuse an animal in such a way as this? Those kids know it's wrong. Oh but wait, I forgot...Michael Vick was let off the hook and allowed to play in the NFL after what he did to those dogs.

Seems to me that people who don't have jobs (like adults NOT teens) would be out robbing places for money, not out abusing animals. It's not like animal abuse hasn't been out in the news because of people like Michael Vick. People KNOW it's wrong. So blaming it on a lack of education isn't true.

Not worrying about that kitten shows lack of compassion on your part too. Compassion is what we all need more of. Unless of course you want to be stoned and set on fire. If so, give us your address...

This is so sad. I'm at a loss for words....

This makes me sick. I am so disgusted with kids that can do this kind of cruelty to animals. I dont care how old they are, these animals cant fend for themselves while be set on fire. My heart breaks to hear these sad stories, these type of people need to be stopped and punished! Gabrielle you are in my thoughts and prayers

They should be caught and taken to a zoo and put in one-at-a-time in the tigers' cage.

Since they like to 'play' with cats so much, they'll get a big kick out of it...

Apparently animals aren't the only ones that need to be euthanized.

This is so utterly F---ED UP! How about letting the punishment fit the crime! Set those a-holes on fire who did this to a defenseless animal! !@#$$^&^

Another good use for a tire iron. Doubt if I could have watched without intervening... kids that torture animals grow up into teens that get their kicks beating on the weak. Then one day we'll see them on the evening news after being arrested for killing their girlfirend's toddler.

It all starts at home and what values are learned. If the parents don't care then the children will be a product of that mentality and it's a shame

I said it before in another story, it's learning a respect for LIFE. Cat, dog, human, tree, fish, it's all life. You are either a person who respects it (some of it is being taught, but some people are cruel and not wired correctly and it really doesn't matter what they are taught) or you don't and it may well be very difficult if not impossible to change that in those that do not. Regardless, although thankfully this time around everyone commenting so far is united in their utter disdain, contempt and sorrow for this situation, from reading some of the other comments from stories on Unleashed, there are many who don't have this respect and many that believe human life is the only one of value. Until the vast majority of us have that respect for all life, we will see these patterns again and again. It's not just Baltimore, these stories are everywhere. We are just hearing the stories that are in our backyard. It's very, very depressing and I'm sad to say that with the state of the world, it may just always be this way. Our priorities unfortunately lie elsewhere. However, this being said, it is not fair to condemn the lady who reported this crime. Some of you do not understand what these pockets of Baltimore are like. As you can plainly see, in some areas there is almost a contempt for life and that includes human life. This lady may have a family and animals of her own to think about and although many of you will not believe it, in some areas of Baltimore (and other cities), kids are even MORE dangerous than adults. They know they will not go to prison (why do you think the drug dealers have the kids actually selling drugs rather than doing it themselves?), they have grown up watching violence and hatred around every corner and that lady may very well have faced revenge from both the kids as well as the parents had she done more. Please do not blame someone who could very well be a victim of her surroundings as well. I know we'd all like to think we'd be brave in any situation, but you have to know some of these areas and live it before you can REALLY say that you would. She called the police who can protect themselves and that may have been the extent of what she could safely do. Please be empathetic to someone who may be haunted by that situation for the rest of her life.

Lack of education and jobs is not the root problem. The root problem is teaching, and leading by example, respect for life and self responsibility. Stop blaming the 'environment' for something that needs to start in the home. School is not going to teach them life skills, and what examples do they have that they think they even need to get a job. Too bad there is no place where these sickos can be sent before they graduate to serial killing.

This is horrible! If my son and I had been walking down the street when this happened, I would have let him bite the perpetrators!

I hope the state takes away the parents kids and their Welfare checks!

When I saw this poor creature, I had to choke back tears. What kind of heartless person could possibly do this sort of thing?? Please let me get my hands on the miserable heathens who did this. They will soon learn a new meaning for the word "torture."

QUITE A SHOCK, RIGHT? GEE - WHAT COULD THE "ROOT CAUSE" OF THIS BARBARIC BEHAVIOR BE? BALTIMORE IS A CESSPOOL, FILLED WITH IRRESPONSIBLE "CITIZENS", AND GOVERNED BY CORRUPT, MORONIC POLITICIANS.

Ok animal lovers, let's RE-consider how cruel we are to humans before even thinking of cruelty towards animals.

Btw, I have 2 cats and recently found a kttten similar to the one in the picture at a local carwash. However, they are NOT ABOVE humans nor even more valuable than humans.

And to the person who turned away while the kids tortured the kitten, WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU INTERVENE?

All you had to do is scoop the kitten away from the kids and take it home.

Pure evil. Nothing else to say about these "kids" and their parents.

Some needs to throw rocksat them and set those little brats on fire...they need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law...I now have to go vomit.

Though this is of course a highly cruel and heinous act,i wonder how many of you who make statements such as "It breaks my heart that anyone can be so cruel as to seriously harm a helpless creature" eat animals everyday? Are your sympathies reserved only for those animals you consider worthy of being a kept pet? If you eat meat,and are outraged by what happened to this kitten,then you are a hypocrite,plain and simple. Visit a slaughterhouse where your precious hot dogs are made,you'll see plenty of cruelty..

Another saddening case of animal abuse in Baltimore. If this story resonates with you, as it should, you should learn a bit more about the welfare of the animals that you eat. Don't feel sorry for the domesticated animals while ignoring the plight of those that you eat. Look closer & discover the routine animal abuse that's been keeping us fat & happy for the last century.

Children who seriously harm or torture animals are a significantly greater risk to commit violent crimes. They are also exhibiting signs of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, which is just another indication of how dysfunctional many families have become. Without proper parenting, or in fact proper parents, these children have been exposed to senseless and horrific violence their entire lives. I see children on the streets all hours of the night in neighborhoods across Baltimore every day.

Even if these kids were imprisoned for life, the culture of violence that destroyed them will continue to produce traumatized kids. These children, and I do stress children, will continue to act in the only way they know, violently. They feel powerless and victimized so in a twisted effort to legitimize themselves they attack creatures even weaker than they are. This does not mitigate what they’ve done or will do. Rather, it should give us all pause to consider what will happen to all of us if this culture of violence is allowed to continue unchecked.

Ghetto neighborhood, ghetto kids. They will be dead by the time they are 18 due to gangs and violence. Worthless human beings.

Cruelty to animals during childhood is a well-known predictor of antisocial behavior in adolescence/adulthood. Whether these little monsters are caught or not, we'll be paying for their longterm incarceration in a few years.

Okay, so just because we as humans are omnivores, that doesn't mean that kids can go around torturing family pets.

As for the poster who states that animals are not above humans, I'm going to heartily disagree, and the very act itself of burning this cat proves that humans are indeed lower.

Ronda V -

You're so caught up with this once instance of animal cruelty, you miss the bigger issue.

To you, this is an animal rights issue; to me, it's another example of crime in Baltimore that can only be corrected in the long-term, and not through fines or a few months of jail time.

We will only fix it once we have a more educated and employed society. Those societies commit fewer crimes. And they also form a higher set of morals and better parenting. We can cry "Where were the parents" all we want, but if the parents are bad, their kids will be too. Unless your goal is to lock up all of them.

And by the way, thank you for your comment about setting me on fire, it truly shows your own compassion and class. And that your missed the point.

I just don't understand how humans can be so cruel to animals. I hope they find those kids. If no one adopts Gabrielle, I would be more than happy to. Felix needs a sister to love.

Perhaps China has it right.
One kid only then sterilize the parents.
Society cannot control kids when parents take no responsibility for them.

There is absolutely NO excuse for this type of deviant, dispicable behavior. There should be much harsher laws for animal cruelty and these punks that did this should get a blow torch stuck in their genitals. I would be more than happy to light it.

Hopefully when they catch these punks they do the same thing to them

Stop blaming poverty on this sociopathic behavior!!! I grew up in 'East Baltimore poor - no phone, no car - only enough for food and clothes - and church. And we loved the animals in our lives. There's nothing else for these kids to do? How about picking up a book to read or hitting some balls or shooting some hoops? Or how about helping clean up their own neighborhoods or anything else than torturing innocent, defenseless animals? Are we now vying for #1 spot for animal abuse in the country along with murders and drugs? We are in trouble Baltimore! I am sad AND scared because I don't see a good solution to this culture of hate and total lack of emotions in these kids. Where is Sheila Dixon's newly formed task forse on Animal Abuse? DO SOMETHING!!

"I don't understand how people can be so cruel.

Posted by: Jen | August 7, 2009 9:52 AM"

They are not people.
They should be euthanized by the SPCA.

These people are disgusting and should get the same punishment. There needs to be more repercussions for these type of hate crimes. Animals are defenseless creatures !!!!

If it is important to us these individuals will be found. The reward may need to be increased. Officers assigned for a few days to investigate. Whatever it takes. I can assure you they can be found. All life is precious. The torture of innocence is inexcusable. We all know this. People who have no regard for life are very dangerous people indeed. They are capable of anything. ANYTHING.

i don't think it's right for so many people here to be espousing their "2 wrongs make a right" ideology, and advocate burning, beating, and/or torturing the kids responsible for this act. while what they did is despicable and morally reprehensible, by going into graphic detail when you describe what you'd like to do to them, you come off sounding like a caveman. i don't mean to exCUSE what they did, but i would like to exPLAIN why they did it: they are impoverished, devoid of hope for the future, and come from fatherless homes. they are sad reminders of what a bleak time in which we live...

My wife heard about this on the news today and was distraught all morning -- even to tears. I saw the story headline on online and couldn't bring myself to read the article. It's probably the lowest, cruelest form of human behavior and speaks volumes about the environment in which these children are growing up. Incredibly sad.

Are you all crazy? Or all you all just not paying attention? You're not going to stop this from happening and you're not going to change this city.
The liberals spent years telling us why single moms were a great thing and now you all want to fine the parents. It's more like the parent. 70% of these AA's are growing up without a father. But the liberals said that was all OK.

This city doesn't need a hug. It needs a swift kick in the ass. ...

This kind of cruelty happens all to often.

This sort of behavior will go on until society starts treating it like a crime against living creatures, not against property.

Michael Vick got two years in jail for torturing dogs and people were astonished at how severe a penalty he was given. Can you imagine if he had tortured people instead of animals and had been given two years in jail?

When we start treating cats and dogs as among God's creatures and not as if someone lit your lawn chair on fire, things may start to change. Give Vick and kids like these punks twenty years in jail instead of two. Until then, nothing will change, not even a little bit..

Where are the parents???? The truth of the matter is that the parents aren't there and the kids are running a muck. It's not the way it was 20-30 years ago when you could go up to a neighbor's child and intervene in a situation.
Today, as a teacher I can't say something to a child without fear or reprimand. Communities must come together and begin guiding and raising our children before something more terrible as this happens.
Parents and extended family must start taking an active role in these youngsters' lives. Correct them when they are wrong!
My heart aches for this animal but I fear if children are doing this to defenseless creatures it can escalate to a more grave situation.

it makes me sick to think what those, I do not know what to call them, did to a helpless animal. What is learned in the home carries onto the streets. The children should be punished and so too the parents for having them. I only hope the kitten survives and goes to a home where there is love and kindness.

I am sick to my stomach seeing what those little hood rats did to that poor kitten. I hope the person that witnessed the incident rots in hell for not intervening. COWARD!!! I still to this day, wish death on the low life after births that set fire to Phoenix and tortured and killed the other kitten.

Here's a solution. How about birth control pills in the heroin?

The world would be a better place if the parents of these kids had easy access to abortion or birth control.

One word describes this disgusting display typical.And im sure that those children that did it must be products of thier enviroment.I own 2 small dogs along with my soon to be wife. And there part of our family i mean our dogs provide great joy in our lives. And to here about this story just sickened me , and not to get political here. ...That these animals will probaly walk away with a slap on the wrist.Typical behavior from one of the most violent cities in america good job Baltimore!!!

Does anyone know how she is doing?

This just absolutely breaks my heart. Where the hell are these kids parents?! Didn't they ever teach them the value of a living creature?

I hope Gabrielle makes it and the woman who saw something is able to indentiy the kids who did this. The thing that is so aggravating is that these loving animals don't understand why these things happened to them, all they know is that they are in pain. :(

I for one want to start driving the neighborhood where this is occuring. There must be more programs in the schools that teach basic humanity towards all life forms. Parents are turning their heads as usual, as well as neighbors. We must all be involved!

Baltimore has some of THEE most ignorant kids (and adults) on the planet, I swear. Someone should burn those kids and throw bricks at them just for a laugh???? That'd teach them a lesson.

I'd love to see these bastards set on fire an stoned to an inch of their lives themselves.

It is Baltimore what do you expect. This is sad but do not think it will not happen again. The ghetto culture that is in the city is sicking no respect for life and animals. When you have a bulk of the people that did not graduate or obtain a GED then this type of stuff happens. This little kitten sure as heck did not deserve this. I will be back from Iraq soon might make a little visit to the area and get some answers.

A question that still plagues me about this case (among so many) is: has this kitten been kept alive because it truly has a chance at a comfortable life after this horror, or is it suffering, but being kept alive to bring publicity to Baltimore's animal cruelty crisis -- in other words, to serve a greater good (and hopefully not to inspire any similar attacks)? I hope the veterinarians are putting the kitten's wellbeing first and foremost. I'd very much like to know if the kitten is surviving, yet as of today (12 August) I can't find any follow-up news.

Let's just hope the justice system doesn't let them off as easy as if they had done this in Scotland. Disgusting. Given the high levels of narcissism these days, expect more and more of this, because narcissists lack consciences.