PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police said two young children have been removed from an unsafe and uninhabitable house in the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia.
They were taken to a nearby hospital to be evaluated. The Philadelphia Police Department’s Special Victims Unit has been investigating their welfare.
Sources told KYW Newsradio the two children were living in what appeared to be a hoarder house on Whitaker Avenue near St. Vincent Street.
The city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections and PSPCA animal law enforcement officers were both on scene. A PSPCA spokesperson said at least 38 cats and one dog have been taken from the squalid conditions inside the home.
“It's a shame something like that happened anywhere. That’s pretty sad. I hate when people are vicious to animals,” neighbor Herb Mithi told NBC10.
The home is part of a duplex amid an otherwise quiet residential street in Northeast Philly.
PSPCA officers went into the house with multiple pet crates at a time, even hours into the recovery process. There was a noticeable bad odor coming from the home that could be smelled about 30 feet away on the sidewalk.
However, officials have not detailed the exact conditions inside the home. There’s no word yet on the homeowners, nor what consequences they may face.
Police said the FBI has been conducting a court-authorized enforcement search of the property and are leading the ongoing investigation.
Authorities say 2 young children and nearly 40 animals were removed from squalid conditions
Authorities say 2 young children and nearly 40 animals were removed from squalid conditions
