Residents of affluent California city claim elderly man is killing cats with a crossbow as part of a demonic ritual

Residents of a ritzy California town say that a man is terrorizing them by shooting and killing cats with a crossbow as part of a bizarre demonic ritual.

KTTV-TV spoke to residents in San Pedro who said they were afraid of a 70-year-old man who is killing feral cats.

'In the name of the Lord, he exercises demons by shooting cats.'

"There is a man who seems to delight in pretending he's a Knights Templar, and in the name of the Lord, he exercises demons by shooting cats," said Holly Sweany, who lives in the area. "He says they're demons, they're demons of the devil."

Sweany claims that the man tried to shoot her because she feeds the cats at a cat colony.

"As far as he's concerned, we are working with the devil because we're helping the cats," she added.

Sweany said she told police that the bolt narrowly missed her head, but they reportedly told her that they didn't have enough information to do anything about the man. They said they need video evidence before they can take action against him.

The man allegedly leaves a symbol involving a red cross after shooting a cat with a crossbow. Residents are posting images of the symbol on the Citizen social media app to document the incidents.

In its report, KTTV also published images of what appeared to be a crossbow bolt with cat fur on it that had been shot a second time at another cat.

Others say that the same man performs exorcisms and tosses holy water on random people.

"I don't think it's a good thing for someone to be going around shooting animals. They could go and change their minds and start shooting people, too," said Meri Gyetvay, another resident in the area.

"We had a major colony here, and the cats began disappearing," said Community Animal Rescue Endeavor founder Terry Hamill.

Hamill went on to claim that the man told her he eats the cats that he kills.

Another resident said the man denied killing cats but confirmed the demonic theory.

"He goes, 'No, I'm not killing cats. Although they are evil spirits,'" Ken Creighton said.

"The guy needs to be stopped obviously," said another unidentified resident. "I would think it's against the law to hurt animals."

Some reports claim the man sports a mullet.

The average home in San Pedro sells for $850k according to Zillow.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!