Police Detain Former Soccer Pro After He Was Allegedly Caught on Video Dangling a Dog by Its Hind Legs from Apartment Window
Authorities apprehended Héctor Alejandro Rosales Bonilla after footage of an alleged animal-abuse incident went viral; the video shows a man alleged to be him dangling a small dog by its hind legs from an apartment window at least five stories up; officials said the dog was rescued and will receive care.
Police detained a former professional soccer player over the alleged incident, captured in a viral video in which the animal could be heard crying out.
Police apprehended Héctor Alejandro Rosales Bonilla, 64, in San Salvador on Tuesday, Oct. 20, following the viral video, which showed a man dangling a small dog from the window of what appeared to be a fifth-story apartment. The National Civil Police of El Salvador (PNC) and the city mayor shared details on X.
The PNC said on X on Oct. 20 that Rosales Bonilla — described as a former professional soccer player according to the New York Post — will be referred to the authorities to face animal-abuse charges. The PNC said, in a statement translated from Spanish, that it would not tolerate this type of action.
The PNC also shared photos showing Rosales Bonilla with his hands behind his back, apparently because of handcuffs, while a police officer held a small dog beside him; another small dog stood at his feet.
Along with police, the mayor’s office was involved in apprehending him, according to a post shared on X the same day by San Salvador Mayor Mario Durán.
Durán said a report came through social media about a little dog being a victim of animal abuse; his team, together with @PNCSV, intervened and rescued it; it was now safe and would receive the care it needed.
Photos shared showed police officers and mayor’s-office officials arriving to take Rosales Bonilla into custody, and a video shared by the mayor’s office also showed an official playing with one of the dogs.
PEOPLE said it reached out to the PNC and the San Salvador mayor’s office for additional information but did not immediately hear back, and that Rosales Bonilla could not be reached for comment.
The article states that the initial video that led to the apprehension circulated widely online.
A man alleged to be Rosales Bonilla dangled the pug by its hind legs, held in one hand, out of an apartment window, while holding out a phone and appearing to take a photo or video of the dog as it hung and cried out.
The video begins with the dog already hanging by its legs, shows it dangling for at least four seconds, then the man pulls it back inside and walks away from view.
Rosales Bonilla was a professional soccer player in the 1990s, when he played with C.D. Águila, a club in El Salvador’s Primera División, according to the New York Post. The same outlet reported that he now works as a dentist.
