LEON VALLEY, Texas - Two people have confessed to stealing a shark from the San Antonio Aquarium and concealing it in a stroller.
According to the Leon Valley Police Department, a male suspect reached into the tank and removed a gray horn shark from an exhibit. The incident reportedly happened Saturday around 2:15 p.m.
Monday, the aquarium released the following statement:
On Saturday, July 28th one of our employees reported seeing suspicious activity from three people around one of our interactive shark touch pools. Management caught up to the suspects in the parking lot and were denied access to both searching the vehicle and the stroller.
The 16-inch-long horn shark was stolen from our tide pool exhibit while the attendant was assisting other guests. The suspects staked out the pool for more than an hour to wait for this opportunity.
Security footage indicated that the suspects brought their own net to capture the horn shark. After grabbing the shark they entered into one of our filter rooms where they poured the bucket of bleach solution that employees used for the disinfection of tools into our cold water exhibit filtration system, causing harm to other wildlife. (If it weren't for the fast acting experienced staff, the bleach would have done more damage.) They then used the sanitation bucket to aide in transportation of the shark into the stroller and hurried up the stairs and out to the parking lot.
We have been working closely with Leon Valley and San Antonio police departments to recover the animal and apprehend the suspects. We are offering a reward for any tips that lead to the recovery of this animal. We value the lives of all of our animals and take pride in the care that we are able to give them as well as the education that we are able to give to the general public about these treasured species.
You can see the surveillance video below.