MINT HILL, N.C. — A man from Mint Hill has been arrested for cruelty to animals after a video was shared online of an opossum being set on fire last month.
Channel 9 obtained court documents that say 30-year-old Cameron Torrence “participated in the burning of a live opossum” and posted a video of the act to Facebook.
Torrence was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of instigating cruelty to animals, according to online court records. Jail records, however, say he’s being held on a felony charge. The warrant for his arrest was issued on Wednesday.
The video was shared across social media in late April and had hundreds of thousands of views as commenters called on investigators to find the people responsible. We’re choosing not to share the video because it is disturbing.
There's an awful video going viral of someone in Charlotte setting an opossum on fire. The Carolina Wildlife...
Posted by Joe Bruno on Friday, April 25, 2025
The North Carolina Wildlife Commission spoke about the incident in early May and asked for leads, but officials said at the time that they had multiple “persons of interest.”
According to an affidavit obtained by Channel 9, investigators found the original posting of the video and linked it back to Torrence’s profile. Investigators were able to find the address where the opossum was burned on St. Mark Street, but they weren’t able to contact anyone who lives there.
Police referenced the virality of the videos, with the affidavit stating that the video was “exposed to several hundred thousand followers.”
The affidavit doesn’t specify if Torrence was the one who lit the fire, but it says he was “present during the act of animal cruelty.”
It’s not clear if other suspects have been identified at this time.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
(VIDEO: Several dogs rescued in Anson County from alleged animal cruelty situation)
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