New York Post
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Paul Martinka, Katherine Donlevy
In Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, a 3-month-old cat named Jabal was returned to owner Imad "Jimmy" Innab after being kidnapped from the street days earlier. Neighbors launched an intense search and posted missing pet flyers when a couple snatched Jabal on Thursday. One of the captors eventually turned him over to police, who then delivered Jabal back to Innab's bodega on Monday morning. The community praised Innab for his contributions to the neighborhood and expressed outrage at the theft, which occurred shortly after losing another family pet.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Thursday morning in Brooklyn, Jabal, a three-month-old cat from the Eighth Street Mini Market in Park Slope, was abducted by a couple as he ventured outside. Surveillance footage captured the incident, showing the man and woman taking Jabal despite warnings from neighbors that the kitten belonged to the store. The bodega’s owner, Imad “Jimmy” Innab, offered a $500 reward for Jabal's return after realizing his cat was missing. After an intense search campaign involving local residents and media coverage, Jabal was returned to the market on Tuesday morning by one of the suspects through NYPD intervention. Although initially resistant to returning Jabal, the woman who took him eventually complied due to pressure from neighbors and fear of legal repercussions. The community's swift response demonstrated the importance of neighborhood solidarity in addressing local issues like this cat abduction.
Written for “Bodega Cat Kidnapping Controversy” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 11995 · logged 2026-09-15
Cops brought little Jabal to the 8th St. Mini Mart in the well-heeled Brooklyn neighborhood in the morning after one of the people accused of taking him turned him over to them — ending an intense neighborhood manhunt dedicated to returning the 3-month-old cat home.
asserted
one → bring → cat
“They put the bag there and opened the zipper,” said Jabal’s overjoyed owner, Imad “Jimmy” Innab, to The Post, referring to the officers who returned the kitty to him.
asserted
who → put → him
“He saw me and just jumped!
asserted
He → see → me
He knows that I am the owner of him.
asserted
I → know → him
“I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. …
asserted
I → wait → ?
I thank [the NYPD] and thank the community of neighbors and the 8th Street neighbors of Park Slope,” Innab said.
asserted
Innab → thank → Slope
“I thank them from my heart.
asserted
I → thank → heart
The emotional homecoming was thanks to dedicated neighbors who convinced the pair who took the cat to right their wrong — despite the man and woman initially refusing to give Jabal back when a local neighbor confronted them and warned they had taken someone’s pet rather than rescued a stray.
asserted
they → convince → stray
One of the pair, a pink-haired woman, apparently realized she needed to give Jabal back — whether from guilt or fear of punishment for crime — but didn’t feel comfortable returning the kitten herself.
asserted
she → realize → kitten
Instead, she sent a middleman to bring Jabal to the 78th precinct on Tuesday, and police delivered the kitten back to Innab’s shop, neighbors said.
asserted
neighbors → send → shop
The man and woman had snatched Jabal onThursday after spotting him as they walked down 8th Avenue — with the man wasting no time plucking the kitten off the pavement, security footage from the incident shows.
asserted
footage → snatch → incident
Jabal seemingly makes an attempt to flee from the man’s grasp, but the man tightened his grasp on the kitten.
asserted
man → make → kitten
A witness told The Guardian that the couple brought the cat to Bushwick.
asserted
couple → tell → Bushwick
The incident ignited rage throughout the neighborhood — prompting a group of customers to take to the streets in search of the kitty and plaster missing posters throughout the neighborhood.
asserted
incident → ignite → neighborhood
We all just support each other,” said Danielle Barnett, who made missing posters for Jabal and whose kids plastered them throughout the area.
asserted
kids → support → area
Jabal instantly became a “celebrity” since joining Innab’s family a month ago, Barnett said.
asserted
Barnett → become → family
“Jimmy just loved that cat, so when he disappeared, it was just a horrible thing for everybody.
asserted
it → love → everybody
And it was, everyone was, it was crazy outrage across the board in our neighborhood and everyone just pitched in to help,” Barnett said.
asserted
Barnett → pitch → neighborhood
Innab has said he wouldn’t pursue the incident any further despite his brief heartbreak, which was especially painful considering Jabal was a new addition to his family after they lost 17-year-old cat, Victoria, just three months earlier.
asserted
they → say → cat
It’s not clear if the couple that picked up the cat off the street faced any consequences with the NYPD.
asserted
that → ’ → NYPD
While Innab rejoiced that the pair ultimately did the right thing by returning his kitten, he offered a warning to others who might think that picking any animal up off the street is a good idea.
uncertain
picking → rejoice → street
“People make mistakes, but mistakes like that — you can’t mess with anybody, especially with the bodega cats, because they’re going to catch you,” Innab said.
asserted
Innab → make → you
“You can’t just take anything that doesn’t belong to you.
asserted
that → take → you
The Aporia
