A group of sickos filmed themselves lighting a helpless opossum on fire and then giggling with delight as it burned — with cops teasing an update Friday after being flooded with tips.
The distressing video shows them dousing the terrified creature with fuel and lighting it on fire as it’s pinned against a fence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
They scream and laugh as the opossum, engulfed in flames, writhes in pain for over a minute before keeling over, seemingly dead, the video shows.
“It was one of the most heinous cases we’ve heard of recently,” Kevin Chambers from Animal Wellness Action told WCNC while offering a $5,000 reward.
Authorities have scheduled an update on the case for 1:30 p.m. Friday, having earlier said the disturbing attack could lead to felony charges.
They have yet to confirm that the poor opossum died.
The horrific video went viral locally after being posted last week on Facebook, with local law enforcement agencies saying they were swamped with tips — saying they no longer needed more and had enough “to move forward.”
At least three people appear to be involved in the torture, authorities said.
“It’s under investigation, but this is looking like it’s going to be a felony matter of animal cruelty,” Kristofer Blankenship, a senior officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, told WCNC.
