BRIDGETON -- A 17-year-old city resident is facing animal cruelty charges after he was caught on film throwing rocks at wounded pigeons as part of a Pennsylvania gun club event.

The teen, who was not identified by Bensalem, Pennsylvania, police due to his age, was reportedly hired by the Philadelphia Gun Club to "humanely" euthanize the birds following the live shoot.

"We believe it is important that this person be prosecuted not just for the cruelty to animals, but also because someone who causes such pain and suffering to animals may also pose a danger to people as well. That's why the FBI created an animal abuse database," Steve Hindi, president of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) said in a statement.

The animal activist group argued throwing rocks at the struggling creatures did not qualify as humane and fought for charges after filming the Jan. 30 incident. Recordings appear to show the suspect tossing the flapping birds and pelting them with small rocks.

SHARK later ran into an apparent roadblock with the gun club when attempting to ID the person caught on camera. Bensalem police Lt. William McVey told philly.com the shoots are legal in Pennsylvania, but a swift death once the animals are wounded during the shoot is a law enforcement concern.

According to SHARK, the video was provided to Bensalem police, who were apparently told by the gun club that they didn't know who the person in the video was.

"All we can say now is that we can't identify who the person is, and we're cooperating with the police investigation," a gun club statement provided by SHARK reads. "It appears that he was down range during active shooting, and we don't station anybody in front of the firing line. That just adds to the mystery."

A second video that showed the teen entering the gun club was later sent to police, who went back to question the club and later led to the teen being identified.

A lawyer for the gun club told the Associated Press that the group is fully cooperating with the investigation. Stuart Chaifetz, who filmed the incidents, criticized the gun club's initial denial of being unable to identify the teen.

"It is unfortunate that the gun club sought to mislead both the police and media as to their connection to the torturer, but in the end the truth came out," Hindi said.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.