Man who stole shark in pushchair says he is 'an activist not criminal'
Surveillance video of the theft shows two men and a woman grabbing the animal from a petting tank and later wheeling it away
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A man accused of stealing a shark from a US aquarium has said he did so because he was concerned about the creature's wellbeing.
Anthony Shannon has been charged with theft for stealing the horn shark on Saturday from the San Antonio Aquarium in Texas.
The theft was captured on surveillance video. It shows two men and a woman grabbing the grey horn shark, less than 2ft long, from a petting tank and later wheeling it away in a pushchair.
The shark was recovered on Monday night from Mr Shannon's home.
Mr Shannon told San Antonio TV station Kens that he is an “activist, not a criminal”. He said he became concerned about aquarium conditions and had posed as a salt distributor about a month ago to take water samples.
The dripping shark, known to aquarium staff as Helen, was put into a bright orange pickup truck used as a getaway vehicle, footage showed.
A member of aquarium staff challenged the group but was unable to stop them leaving, according to local reports.
“The suspects staked out the pool for more than an hour” before making their move, the aquarium said in a statement.
Police chief Joseph Salvaggio said the truck used in the heist was recovered on Monday evening.
He said: “The individual obviously had some knowledge on how to deal with these types of animals, we said that from the very beginning, otherwise why take it?
“And when we got into the garage and into the house, it looked like almost a mock-up of [the aquarium].
“He had a lot of different marine animals in the home. He very much knew what he was doing – kept that animal alive and was able to continue to see that animal thrive which was pretty shocking to all of us.”
The aquarium said its animals are well cared for and water quality is tested daily.
Additional reporting by AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments