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Animal is a major antagonist in the crime drama TV series Criminal Minds. He is a narcissistic serial killer who appears as the main antagonist of the Season 4 episode "Brothers in Arms".
He was portrayed by David St. Pierre.
Biography[]
Very little is known about Animal, other than he was a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, and was beat up both by his father and big brother in childhood. As an adult, he constantly tried to prove his superiority, and eventually joined an underground fight club. Because of his small stature and lack of strength, however, Animal lost every fight. After being beaten in a fight by a bouncer named Boom, Animal snapped and shot him dead outside of the club he worked for.
Feeling powerful and superior from the murder, Animal decided to kill again, this time targeting a gang member named Bobby Q. The police thought the murder was gang-related and didn't investigate the murder further. A while later, Animal started targeting cops, first shooting an officer when he approached his window at a traffic stop.
The next victims are two cops that he lures with a fake 911 call. The Phoenix Police Commander calls in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) to help profile and catch the killer.
Two more officers respond to another fake 911 call and spot Animal standing next to a body. They believe it's two bums, until Animal lights the body on fire and runs away into an alley. The officers try to put out the fire, but one of them goes after Animal. The other officer puts out the fire and realizes the body's just a mannequin and that it's a trap. Before he can warn his partner, Animal shoots him. While Animal tries to perform his ritual, he has a shootout with the surviving officer.
Still believing that the murderer is a gang-banger named Playboy, the police arrest him. Agent Derek Morgan of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit interrogates him and finds out about the murder of Playboy's lieutenant, Bobby Q. After looking into the murder, the BAU is able to connect it to the other killings, along with that of a nightclub bouncer. By talking to the bartender at the nightclub about the bouncer, the BAU find the underground fighting club and ask the man who runs it, Beanie, if he remembers a weakling who lost every fight. The leader recalls a man calling himself "Animal" and is taken to the station to describe the man to a sketch artist.
With pressure rising, the BAU set a trap for the killer, by having Agent Aaron Hotchner hold a press conference telling everyone that the FBI is taking over the investigation, effectively making himself a target. After a fake tip to the police, Animal attempts to kill Hotchner, but falls right into the trap and is apprehended by Morgan. While he is being led into the station by police, Playboy shoots him as revenge for killing Bobby Q.
List of Victims[]
- 1: Mickey "Boom" Reese
- 2: Robert "Bobby Q" Quinones
- 3: Officer Jason Kessinger
- 4: Sergeant Manuel Rodriguez
- 5: Officer Thomas Kayser
- 6: Officer Mark Cunningham
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Animal is inspired by multiple real-life criminals:
- Herman Bell, a Black Panther member and cop killer using a similar ruse of luring police into traps to shoot them.
- The late Larry Davis, a suspected serial killer of drug dealers who shot and wounded police attempting to arrest him. He was killed in prison by another inmate.
- The late Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy who was shot dead after his arrest by Jack Ruby.
- Along with taking a trophy, Animal's ritual was to put his hand around the victim's neck. He learned this from the fight club, where it was to demonstrate that the opponent had the other's life in their hands, and therefore was superior.
- Animal is one of the few unsubs in the entire series to never have their true name revealed.
External links[]
- Animal (Criminal Minds) at the Criminal Minds Wiki
