6 puppies rescued by police from woman who had them stuffed in bag

QUEENS, N.Y. — A woman is facing multiple charges after she was arrested for selling puppies found in a bag in Queens, New York on Saturday.

On Saturday just before 7 p.m., New York Police Department officers found a woman trying to buy a puppy from another woman in Queens, WNYW reported.

When the woman tried to buy the puppy, she reportedly asked if there were others for sale and the woman allegedly reached for a bag which was sealed shut, WNBC reported.

When officers got involved, they grabbed the bag and opened it. Police said they found five pitbull puppies inside once the bag was open.

“We cut the bag open and that’s when five puppies flooded out. Well, four, because one was completely at the bottom, unconscious … opened up its eyes and came back to life,” Officer Austin Glickman said, according to the news outlet.

“We found out they’re no more than 6 weeks, so they didn’t have much life to even experience, and they were being tortured,” Officer Lukasse Pusz said, according to WNBC.

“Thankfully, the distressed puppies were rescued before they were seriously injured,” police said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The puppies are being treated and evaluated at the Manhattan ASPCA, WNBC reported.

The woman was identified by police as Shirley Medina, 44. She was arrested and charged with six counts of torturing and injuring an animal, six counts of neglect of an impounded animal and criminal possession of a weapon, police said, according to WNYW.

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