US army offers $7,300 in compensation after 'shelling' family pet

THE US ARMY has offered a northern New Jersey family over $7,300 to compensate for damages from wayward artillery shell shrapnel that crashed through their roof in 2008, causing the death of their cat.

The 2-pound fragment traveled more than a mile from Picatinny Arsenal and punched a hole in the roof of Frederick Angle’s Jefferson Township home.

The hot piece of metal landed on the bed of Angle’s then-10-year-old stepdaughter, who wasn’t home. But the family’s cat was on the bed and had to be euthanised.

Angle tells The Daily Record of Parsippany the offer is a “kick in the teeth” and he plans to reject it.

Picatinny spokesman Tim Rider says major steps were taken after the 2008 incident to ensure it could not happen again.