Three boys, ages 5, 6, and 8, reportedly broke into a zoo in the Czech Republic and pelted a flock of flamingos with rocks and sticks, killing one of them on Friday.
The boys reportedly scaled a fence to get into the indoor flamingo exhibit, and then began attacking the flock of 60-some birds, according to The Washington Post.
Jan Vašák, a zoologist who overheard the noise, told The Morning Prague he also saw one of the boys kick a flamingo. The three boys attempted to run away as an employee was notified and called the police.
"We immediately phoned police officers and so two of the villains we managed to catch far from the park. The third escaped,” Vašák said.
Tragically, a 16-year-old flamingo died of severed arteries and a broken leg on the spot. Another bird is recovering from serious but not life threatening injuries, the zoo notified The Post.
According to zoo officials, the children were taken to custody where they faced criminal charges. But due to their young ages, they could not be punished.
The parents, however, are expected to pay material damages of up to $2,000, if not more.
The killed flamingo was a beloved figure at the Jihlava Zoo. It had survived a deadly flooding in 2002, where it was then transferred to the zoo in a small town south of Prague. The flamingo also fathered eight children.
As the news spread online, people were stunned and reacted strongly.
All three boys should be stoned for doing this to a defenseless flamingo https://t.co/79EtwMF7p2
The news also followed a chain of recent fatal animal attacks at zoos around the world.
Anyone who kills a flamingo gotta be a verified psychopath. https://t.co/R747qGANrD
In a tweet that's been retweeted over 10,000 times, one person captured in the simplest of ways of what a lot of people are feeling toward the three boys and their parents.
before you ask, yes they were https://t.co/LAMzvT7AVp
Other people were more blatant about it.
@wdsu white people smh
@wdsu tweet doesn't mention the race of the children hmmm this must mean they are white huhh
Three *white boys... u know they woulda clarified if they were black https://t.co/7tgeGscmdR