A Shuman Center employee is accused of shooting and killing a cat in his neighborhood with an airsoft gun, authorities said.

Michael Andrews, 36, has worked in child care at the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center since mid-2019, according to a county spokeswoman.

Andrews was charged earlier this week via summons in connection with the cat’s killing. The cat was found across the street from Andrews’ backyard.

A criminal complaint filed against Andrews said a Carrick woman called police to report that a cat she’d been caring for was found dead in the backyard of a home on Overbrook Boulevard, and she noted the cat “appeared to be a victim of abuse.”

A necropsy showed a large wound near the cat’s tail, and a pellet was removed from inside the cat’s chest, near its heart, according to the complaint. Police said the cat was microchipped and had gone missing from its owners.

Officer Christine Luffey, who handles many of the bureau’s animal abuse investigations, wrote in the complaint that she spoke to Andrews a little over a week later. She noted that his yard is directly behind the yard where the cat was found.

Andrews allegedly told Luffey he does own an airsoft gun that he used to shoot squirrels and other wildlife that comes into his yard, according to the complaint. He said several cats live behind his home and relieve themselves in his yard. Luffey said Andrews retrieved the gun, a Nitro Piston, and gave it to her “as a measure of good faith.”

The woman who initially reported the cat’s death told police that Andrews called her that night and said he’d given the gun to police to show he wouldn’t do it again, according to the complaint. She told Luffey that Andrews apologized and told her, “You saw me shoot it, not kill it,” and, “The cat was in my yard, it was bothering my kids.”

In an interview with Luffey and Lt. Julie Stoops, Andrews said the cat situation escalated when his wife began gardening in the backyard and she became “very upset,” according to the complaint. He said he shot at a cat in his backyard.

In statement emailed to Luffey, Andrews wrote that he “did not shoot directly at the cat but in the vicinity in hopes to scare it and get it out of the garden,” Luffey said.

Andrews was charged via summons with two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and a citation related to the city ordinance against discharging a gun or air gun.

No defense attorney was listed in court records for Andrews as of Friday afternoon. Andrews could not immediately be reached for comment.

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