Man who threw firework at dog in Santa Ana identified by police

The Santa Ana Police Department said they know who threw a lit firecracker into a home’s yard, seriously injuring a dog.

The incident was caught on a home security camera , which was released by Santa Ana police.

“And within minutes of us posting the video, it was shared so many times people were commenting on the video and we were able to get a lot of inquiries based on that that our detectives did follow up with, and ultimately, they were able to identify the suspect, which is awesome,” Natalie Garcia with the Santa Ana Police Department told KNX News’ Karen Adams.

Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.

In the video, a man in a car stops on the street and tosses the firecracker in the yard of a home on West Pine St. The video then shows a dog, named Romeo, walking up to the firecracker right before it explodes in his face. He suffered burns and bleeding, but he is back to running around and playing again.

Garcia said detectives are in the process of speaking with the man, who will likely face animal cruelty charges.

Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok