August 24, 2013
By Bob Holt, NewJerseyNewsroom.com
Philly.com reported that 68-year old Robert Losasso of Somers Point, NJ is being charged by federal officials with fatally shooting, or attempting to kill Cooper’s hawks, red-shoulder hawks, red-tailed hawks, and sharp-shinned hawks. Neighbors within a four-block radius of Losasso claim they have seen more than 40 dead or injured birds in their areas from as far back as August 2010.
Authorities recorded Losasso on camera opening a rear sliding door of his home and sticking out the barrel of a gun and aiming it upward outside, according to an Associated Press report in The Item. Losasso was also recorded sprinkling birdseed in his backyard, but he was never filmed firing a gun, according to the complaint.
The complaint said that ballistic tests matched the bullets that killed four hawks to Losasso’s guns, NBC New York reported.