TikToker Rips Seagull’s Head Off… Then Makes a Rap About It

A Fourth of July weekend trip to the Jersey Shore took a disturbing turn after a social media influencer killed a seagull with his bare hands at a family cabana, later became involved in a separate confrontation with police, and eventually posted a rap video referencing the incident.

According to the host of the bodycam YouTube channel EWU Bodycam, North Wildwood police were called to Morey’s Piers in New Jersey on July 6, 2024, after staff members discovered that 30-year-old TikToker Franklin Zeigler had killed and decapitated a seagull. Zeigler insisted that he acted because several birds had swooped toward his nearly 2-year-old daughter while the family was eating.

Witnesses, however, described a scene that raised questions about what happened after the bird was caught, including allegations that Zeigler and his girlfriend photographed and filmed the dead animal before showing it to their toddler.

Zeigler Said The Bird Went After His Daughter

Bodycam footage shows officers first approaching Zeigler at a cabana after staff reported the dead bird.

Zeigler told police that several seagulls had descended on the family while they were eating and that his daughter began screaming.

According to his account, he reacted quickly, grabbed one of the birds and killed it while trying to protect her.

“My daughter’s almost 2 years old and she’s standing there screaming,” Zeigler later told officers. “What do you think I’m going to do?”

EWU Bodycam’s host said the situation first drew additional attention when Zeigler asked his waitress for a trash bag so he could dispose of the carcass.

The waitress told police that when she saw the bird, its head was no longer attached.

Asked where the head was, she said Zeigler had been holding it in his other hand.

Another witness told officers that she had seen a seagull take food from the family’s table before Zeigler grabbed the bird with his bare hands.

That detail does not necessarily resolve whether he initially acted out of concern for his daughter, but it does make the way the bird was ultimately killed central to the later animal-cruelty case.

Pier Employees Said The Scene Was Shocking

A food and beverage manager told officers that employees were stunned when they learned what had happened.

The dead seagull was reportedly found near or on top of a garbage can, with its severed head beside it.

“We obviously were all, like, in shock,” the manager said.

One witness also claimed that after the bird was decapitated, Zeigler and his girlfriend took photographs and videos involving the animal and showed it to their young child.

Those allegations were relayed to police during the investigation, while Zeigler continued defending himself by saying he had simply reacted to a bird attacking his daughter.

He repeatedly challenged officers over why they needed his identification, asking what crime he had committed and insisting that he had not simply grabbed a random bird out of the air for no reason.

At that stage, police did not immediately arrest him over the seagull incident.

Officers appeared to be gathering witness statements and determining exactly what had occurred, and Zeigler and his family were initially allowed to continue their day at the pier.

A Missing Phone Led To Another Confrontation

The situation did not stay calm for long.

EWU Bodycam said Zeigler later approached police again to report that a phone belonging to his girlfriend had disappeared after staff members had been inside the family’s cabana.

He wanted officers to help locate it, but the conversation quickly became argumentative.

Zeigler told one officer that his tax dollars paid his salary and ordered him to “shut up,” while repeatedly demanding that police find the missing device.

The officer reminded Zeigler that police had not even finished determining exactly what happened with the dead bird, much less instantly locating a missing phone.

Meanwhile, Morey’s Piers staff decided that Zeigler would no longer be allowed back inside the property, although his girlfriend was permitted to return to the cabana to search for the phone.

Police told Zeigler he was free to leave.

Instead, according to the footage, he continued yelling and demanding that officers remain with him until the phone issue was resolved.

This second confrontation is a good example of how quickly an already tense encounter can deteriorate when someone refuses to accept that officers cannot provide an immediate answer. Whatever legitimate complaint Zeigler may have had about a missing phone became increasingly overshadowed by his behavior toward police.

Officers Arrested Him For Disorderly Conduct

When Zeigler continued shouting and moving toward officers, police decided the situation had gone far enough.

Bodycam footage shows officers ordering him to turn around and put his hands behind his back.

Zeigler initially resisted their attempts to control his arms while repeatedly asking whether he was being arrested simply for yelling.

Officers told him they had given him numerous opportunities to calm down before finally placing him under arrest for disorderly conduct.

The footage later shows Zeigler becoming calmer with the transporting officer.

When that officer realized who he was, he asked whether Zeigler was “the one that killed the seagull.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Zeigler replied.

EWU Bodycam said Zeigler had a substantial social media following, with more than 600,000 followers on TikTok at the time covered by the channel.

The seagull episode would eventually become part of that online persona rather than something he quietly left behind.

He Later Released A “Seagull Freestyle”

According to EWU Bodycam, Zeigler later addressed the incident on his Instagram and TikTok accounts.

On April 12, 2026, the channel said he uploaded a rap video titled “Seagull Freestyle,” which referenced killing the bird and attracted thousands of views.

That decision adds a particularly strange final chapter to an already unusual case.

Someone facing criticism over killing an animal might ordinarily be expected to distance themselves from the episode, particularly once criminal proceedings are involved. Zeigler instead turned it into content nearly two years later.

The video does not establish whether the song was intended as mockery, self-defense or an attempt to capitalize on his notoriety, but its existence ensured that an incident which might otherwise have faded remained attached to his public image.

Zeigler Pleaded Guilty To Animal Cruelty

EWU Bodycam said court records eventually showed that Zeigler pleaded guilty to animal cruelty as part of a plea agreement.

The channel also reported that he pleaded guilty to assault by auto, aggravated assault involving a domestic violence victim and criminal restraint in separate cases that predated the seagull incident.

Following the attention surrounding the bird’s death, an animal protection organization reportedly launched a petition seeking a sentence of three to five years.

Zeigler was ultimately sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to complete treatment, domestic violence counseling and a mental health evaluation, according to the channel.

Police records also showed that he was banned from all Morey’s Piers properties.

The case began with Zeigler insisting that he had only reacted because his frightened daughter was surrounded by aggressive seagulls, an explanation that at least gives context to why he first grabbed the bird. What happened afterward, including the decapitation, witness accounts of the carcass being photographed and the later rap video, made the episode much harder to characterize as a simple defensive reaction.

By the time the legal case was resolved, the strange encounter had moved far beyond a father chasing away a bird near his child. It had become an animal-cruelty conviction, a viral bodycam story and, remarkably, material for Zeigler’s own social media content.