A man wearing tactical military equipment and carrying a rifle kidnapped a worker from an Australian animal shelter on Monday, tied her up and threatened to shoot her, unless she revealed “where all the cats are”.
On Tuesday, a suspect was arrested when he showed up at the same shelter to claim a cat he said was “a support animal for a friend with mental health problems,” according to the Australian news site News.com.
Tony Wittmann, a 44-year-old former soldier, was charged at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court with kidnapping, private imprisonment, felony theft, armed robbery and firearm crimes related to the incident at the Lost Dogs House in Cranbourne.
The on-call worker – a 23-year-old woman – was approached in the shelter’s parking lot at around 10:20 pm on Monday by a man in camouflage clothing, a balaclava and a helmet, the Guardian said. Believing he was a police officer, she got out of the car. The man then showed his rifle and sent her to the shelter, where he forced her to kneel, zipped her hands and demanded to know where the cats were.
He left without taking anything and the woman managed to break free.
The next day, Wittmann showed up at the shelter for an appointment on Monday afternoon to rescue a cat.
He was arrested and police say he confessed during an interview with the kidnapping.
Representing himself at a bail hearing on Wednesday, Wittmann told the court he suffered from post-traumatic stress, News.com said.
A police detective said Wittmann served in Australia’s armed forces from 1995 to 1997 and was released for “failing to provide efficient service”.
The bail was denied and Wittmann is due to return to court in April.