Jena Malone Shares She Helped Rescue a Dog She Saw Getting Kicked: It 'Was Really Scary'

Actress Jenna Malone reportedly took action when she saw a dog being abused.

On Wednesday, The Hunger Games actress, 37, shared on Twitter that during a drive through Hollywood, California, on Monday, she noticed a man repeatedly kicking a small white dog, yanking the animal in the air and choking it. "This was really scary," she added in the Twitter thread explaining the event.

"I yelled at him to stop from my car but he wouldn't. I got out of my car to try and get the dog but he started running," Malone wrote in one tweet. The star added in another tweet that, after chasing the man and signaling others on the street to join, five men appeared behind her in pursuit. Having that support, Malone tweeted, "felt like a miracle."

The actress claims that she then stayed back (because she has "no business trying to restrain a full grown man," she wrote on Twitter), hopped back into her car, and drove to see if the alleged abuser had been caught.

"Six blocks down from where the chase began a big group had gathered and it look like the man no longer had the dog," Malone wrote in another tweet. "So I pulled over to make sure that dog was going to be cared for."

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Video footage obtained by NBC4 reportedly shows several people who were chasing the alleged abuser assaulting the individual even after recovering the pet.

According to a statement obtained by PEOPLE from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) about the incident, "The suspect had a small dog on a leash and was observed kicking the dog several times. In addition to beating the dog, the suspect also held the animal up in the air by the leash. Witnesses observed the suspect's actions and confronted him. The suspect picked the dog up and attempted to run from the witness and other citizens approaching him."

"The suspect was eventually surrounded by the group. The suspect then attempted to punch one of the witnesses, but missed," the LAPD statement added. "In self-defense, the witness punched the suspect. Other citizens joined together to physically subdue the suspect who was actively fighting with them. Once the suspect stopped resisting, he was monitored until police arrived and took him into custody."

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE that the suspect was arrested on Monday and that the district attorney filed felony Animal Cruelty charges against the suspect on Tuesday.

Malone referenced the chasing group's actions towards the man with the dog in her tweets about the rescue: "I didn't see the brawl but I was told that the man did not give up the dog without a fight." Adding in another tweet, "I'm sorry that it ended in a brawl but the dog was going to die."

Malone tweeted that she remained until another officer came to take the dog to the hospital. "The dog was covered in filth and looked like it had been not taken care of for months," she wrote.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

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According to the Washington Post, the dog named Champion — or Champ — is a six-year-old Maltipoo that belongs to Kelly McKinney. The owner told the outlet that her son stole the dog after she temporarily left the pet in the care of the nonprofit donation center she runs. She added that her son was the individual that Malone and other individuals stopped on the street.

"The last thing I thought he would do is put his hands on that dog," McKinney told the Washington Post about the incident. "Champ is helpless and every bit of 12 pounds. How do you do that to him?"

According to the paper, McKinney said the actions others took to stop her son were excessive, but she sees his treatment of Champ as inexcusable. The owner also shared that Champ has broken ribs, a broken left hind leg, and some abrasions from his time with her son.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover Champ's medical expenses.

Malone recently premiered her newest feature, Porcupine, at the Sarasota Film Festival.