Man accused of putting wet kitten inside a freezer and slamming another kitten’s head into the floor

WOONSOCKET, R.I. - A 31-year-old Rhode Island man was arrested on suspicion of soaking a kitten in water and then placing it in a freezer, slamming another kitten’s head into the floor until it bled and shooting a woman with an airsoft gun.

Police in Woonsocket said a woman came to the department around 3:13 p.m. on July 19.

She told an officer that she had been assaulted by a friend she identified as Shane Michael Hall. She said she had gone to visit him at his home around 3 p.m.

The woman said when she arrived, Hall had a kitten in his hand. She told police that Hall’s older cat had kittens sometime in May and he had three or four of them left.

Hall appeared to be upset because the kitten had knocked over trash, so he put it into a crate and walked with it to the bathroom, according to the woman’s account. Hall then turned on the shower and soaked the kitten, the woman told police.

Right after that, he allegedly took the gray kitten over to the refrigerator and placed the gray kitten in the freezer, closing the door, according to a police report.

The woman said she told Hall she was going to take the kitten out of the freezer but was warned not to by Hall. He then became angry and told her she could leave and confessed that he slammed a black kitten’s head into the floor until it started bleeding, according to the report.

The woman said she examined the black kitten and saw it had swollen eyes as well as blood in its nose.

When the women attempted to get the kitten out of the freezer, she said Hall walked into his room and as she opened the freezer door he came back out with a black airsoft gun.

According to the police report, Hall began shooting silver BBs at her, striking her on the sides of her body as she kept turning from side to side to shield herself. She told police she was only about 2 or 3 feet away from him as he shot at her.

The woman showed the officer she spoke with a wound on her rib cage that appeared to be slightly larger than a BB as well as other smaller red markings, according to the report. She also told the officer she was shot about 10 or 12 times.

The woman told police she left the apartment after the kitten was finally taken out of the freezer and told Hall she would be calling the police.

Before heading to the department, the woman went to a local medical center to treat the minor injuries, according to the report.

As authorities researched Hall, they learned he had two outstanding bench warrants both for domestic incidents, including an allegation that Hall choked a person.

Later that day, police went to Hall’s home and were unable to locate him but got his roommates to take the kittens out of the home and to a local shelter.

There, veterinarians examined the kittens and found injuries to the black one consistent with what the woman described. The four kittens and their mother were eventually placed in the custody of one of the roommate’s grandmothers.

On Monday, police went back to Hall’s home and were able to search the place after speaking with some of his roommates.

After searching the basement, authorities found him hiding underneath an oil tank in the corner of the room. He was taken into custody and booked into a local jail.

Hall was arrested on suspicion of two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, felony assault with a deadly weapon, obstructing an officer in execution of duty and the two bench warrants.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.