A store employee said the man had visited almost every day for a few weeks with his eyes on the tuxedo cat
Credit: Beltsville Community Cats/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- A thief in Maryland stole a kitten named Magnolia from a pet store before robbing a nearby bank on Monday, July 13
- A store employee said the man had visited almost every day for a few weeks with his eyes on the tuxedo cat
- “Now that her brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her, Magnolia is back to doing what she does best: stealing hearts,” Beltsville Community Cats wrote on Facebook
A thief in Maryland tried to rob a bank with a furry companion.
The man paid Pet Supplies Plus in Beltsville, Md., a visit before robbing a nearby PNC Bank, according to a Facebook post from Beltsville Community Cats on Monday, July 13.
At the pet store, he stole a 3-month-old tuxedo kitten named Magnolia.
“The man who took her walked across the parking lot to a nearby PNC Bank branch and tried to use her as an accessory in his attempted robbery. He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the animal rescue wrote.
Credit: Beltsville Community Cats/Facebook
The robbery was unsuccessful, and the suspect was arrested, per Beltsville Community Cats. The feline was found safe in the bank manager’s office.
The incident happened on Monday around 10:40 a.m. local time on Baltimore Avenue, according to ABC 7, citing the Prince George’s County Police Department.
No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.
PEOPLE reached out to the Prince George’s County Police Department on Tuesday, July 14, but didn’t immediately hear back.
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Security footage shows a man in a light-colored shirt and black beanie running out of Pet Supplies Plus while holding a black-and-white cat, NBC 4 reported.
Witnesses told the news outlet that the thief then ran to the bank, which was in the same shopping center.
Credit: GoogleMaps
Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats detailed the crime scene to NBC 4, saying that she rushed to the pet shop after receiving a call about the stolen kitten from a store employee.
“Immediately saw all of these police cars, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat,’ but then I realized they all were going down to the bank… They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank,’ “ she said.
A store employee said the man had visited almost every day for a few weeks with his eyes on Magnolia, per NBC 4.
Magnolia is currently up for adoption.
Credit: Beltsville Community Cats/Facebook
“Now that her brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her, Magnolia is back to doing what she does best: stealing hearts. She’s still looking for her forever home, where the only things she’ll be stealing are treats, toys, and cuddles,” Beltsville Community Cats wrote in their Facebook post.
An earlier post about Magnolia on July 11 described her as “sweet, playful, and always purring, she loves cuddles, adventures and being close to her people.”
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