Falmouth Driver Killed Seagulls By Running Over Flock: Police

YARMOUTH, MA – A Falmouth driver intentionally ran over a flock of 25 seagulls — killing two — at Seagull Beach in Yarmouth Wednesday, according to police. Brandin Botelho, 22, was charged with animal cruelty and negligent driving. Multiple beachgoers witnessed the horrifying incident and helped officers identify the suspect, police said.

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Security cameras also captured the incident, police said.

Warning: police shared a photo of the aftermath of the crash (below).

"The video clearly shows Botelho operating his vehicle in a reckless manner," Yarmouth police said in a statement. "He went out of his way to hit the birds ... The tape shows that Botelho intentionally speeds up right at the point when he drove through the flock."

Botelho was driving a black 2015 Honda Civic at the time police said. Witnesses wrote down the license plate number, helping officers identify the suspect. Falmouth police said they were initialy unable to locate Botelho at his residence but he was later tracked down to Yarmouth.

"At first Botelho denied that he knew anything," Yarmouth police said in a statement. "After he was informed that there are surveillance cameras at Seagull Beach, he admitted that he did remember seeing a bunch of seagulls in front of his car. He stated that he saw the seagulls fly up in the air and scatter about as he drove by them. He denied that he hit any of them."

Lead photo: Shutterstock