NORTHAMPTON – A homeless veteran has been charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly hitting a hawk with a water bottle.

Alexander Patterson, 58, who lives at Soldier On, a shelter for veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds, was released on his own recognizance by Judge W. Michael Goggins after his arraignment on Thursday.

According to court documents, police arrived at the VA on June 24 in response to a call that a man had struck a red-tailed hawk with a thrown water bottle.

Northampton police summoned the Environmental Police, who determined that the hawk had a broken wing and took it to a rehabilitation center on Conway.