CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A disturbing video that appears to show a Charlotte man kicking a cat is going viral, and NBC Charlotte has learned Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police is investigating.
“We’ve gotten flooded with different ways of it being reported to us,” said Melissa Knicely, spokesperson for the Charlotte Animal Care and Control Division.
The video had more than a million views as of Thursday night, shared over 12,000 times, with more than 3,000 comments.
“There were thousands of tags,” Knicely said.
Commenters even "tagged" the FBI, who called CMPD about it Thursday.
“I feel very happy that not only our community has reported it but other states too, we've been notified from people in other states.”
CMPD is actively investigating, detectives say they really need the public’s help tracking down the person who took the video.
Police have not yet named a suspect, which is why we are not sharing the poster’s identity at this point.
“It is an active investigation for us and we are working very diligently on it,” Knicely said.
Investigators do believe the video originated in the Charlotte area and stressed that someone, somewhere, knows who took the video.
Police just hope they the right thing by coming forward.
“I feel very good about the people who care about animals that have reached out," Knicely said.
"they don't have a way to protect themselves so I think it's reliant upon other people to make sure they're protected.”
If you know anything about who took and/or posted this video you are asked to call 704-334-1600.