NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — A cat defied death last Thursday after it survived a 24 feet fall after being thrown from a third-floor balcony by a teenager in New Jersey.
Tikeemah Lassiter, aged 19, from Clinton, New Jersey was visiting her relatives in Newark on Thursday. She said the cat was bothering her because it kept entering the room, so she decided to do something about it.
In the video, Lassiter can be seen picking up the cat and lobbing it from balcony. The person filming her can be heard laughing.
The cat bounced once and then didn’t move when it hit the pavement below. The woman filming the video can be heard laughing and saying, “Really?! It’s dead?! Is it dead?”
According to NJ.com, Lassiter was arrested on Saturday and charged with animal cruelty. New Jersey Transit Police said she also had an unrelated $10,000 warrant out for her arrest for an assault. It’s unknown if the person who recorded the video was also charged.
The cat miraculously survived with only injuries to its paws. It was examined by a veterinarian and stayed with the vet on Sunday. It’s unlikely the cat will be returned to the apartment, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told NJ.com.