A Connecticut city's beloved wild turkey met a brutal end earlier this month after it was snatched off the streets and killed by two men.
Now, authorities are searching for the bird's killers while a shocked community mourns the loss of what had become a downtown mascot in Bridgeport, The Connecticut Post reported.
The story began last summer, when the turkey -- named Wilhelmina by locals -- began strutting around a federal courthouse on Lafayette Boulevard, looking for food while trying to avoid pedestrians. For months, the bird would wander down to City Hall, and eventually, residents would bring turkey pellets to keep her well-fed. Residents were even beginning to make preparations to keep Wilhelmina warm as winter approached.
But the bird met an untimely demise earlier this month. Two security guards at a downtown building said two "thugs" in their 20s stopped their car and chased the turkey down Lafayette Boulevard, the Post reported. Wilhelmina managed to escape their grasp, but they finally grabbed her, snapped her neck and tossed her into the back of a sedan before speeding away.
"It's horrible. I feel terrible about this," Neldith Sajous, who works at the RBS Financial Building on Lafayette, told the newspaper. "It feels like the loss of a colleague."
Police told the Post that authorities are searching for the suspects, who could face animal cruelty charges. A message left with Bridgeport police by FoxNews.com on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
Shannon Stone, a security guard at the RBS building, said locals "loved" the turkey.
"She was a bit of a celebrity," Stone said. "If I could give her a star in front of this building, I would. That's how much she meant to the people here."
