'Ritual animal sacrifice' in Texas home leads to at least 12 arrests after police find 'goat heads and chickens drained of blood'

At least a dozen people have been arrested for animal cruelty after they were found to be engaged in what appeared to be ritual animal sacrifice in a Texas home, police have said.

At around 7pm on Friday, Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call in west Bexar County after neighbours reported seeing animals being sacrificed with knives - and found 12-14 people in a garage apparently committing the grisly deed.

"It appeared that they were having some sort of ritual," Sgt. Elizabeth Gonzalez told Kens 5 . "One of the other persons was holding up a chicken and draining blood into a container.

"There was containers there. There was heads of what looked like goats and animals dead and alive inside."

Gonzalez told The San Antonio Express that police saw a woman was cutting up animal parts while another person was draining the blood of a chicken into a container.

Deputies found additional mutilated animals inside the home, including goat heads and more chickens.

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"They were speaking a different language the officer did not recognise." Gonzalez told the Express, adding that the deputy in question is fluent in English and Spanish.

Gonzalez said between 12 and 14 people were arrested and will face misdemeanour charges of cruelty to non-livestock animals.

"That's pretty scary," one neighbour told Kens 5. "I can't believe this is happening.

"Before I saw a rooster or something in the backyard. I've had some issues with their dogs, but I've never seen them sacrifice anything before that."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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