• Senator JD Vance shared on Monday, September 9, unsubstantiated allegations that Haitian immigrants kidnapped and ate pets in Springfield, Ohio
• Ohio officials immediately refuted Vance’s statements, saying there were “no credible reports or concrete allegations.”
• The claim emerged after an influx of Haitian migrants to Springfield in recent years

Officials in Springfield, Ohio, are refuting the unfounded claim that Haitian migrants are eating pets, a claim shared by Senator JD Vance on Monday, September 9, on X.

Karen Graves, strategic engagement manager for Springfield, told PEOPLE the city has not received any credible reports that Haitian immigrants have kidnapped and eaten pets.

On Monday, the 40-year-old Republican vice presidential candidate wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he had previously addressed the issue of Haitian immigrants “causing chaos throughout Springfield, Ohio. Reports say the pets of people who do not belong in this country have been kidnapped and eaten.”

The post has been viewed more than 5 million times at the time of publication. Elon Musk and Senator Ted Cruz have also posted memes referencing the baseless claims.

Graves said there were “no credible reports or concrete allegations” that migrant pets had been harmed.

“In response to recent rumors that the immigrant population in our city is engaging in criminal activity, we want to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals in the immigrant community have been harmed, injured or mistreated,” Graves said in a statement provided to PEOPLE.

“In addition, there are no confirmed cases of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” Graves continued. “In addition, there are no reports of members of the immigrant community intentionally obstructing traffic.”

Although it is unclear where exactly the false claim came from, Springfield News-Sun reported that it is likely linked to a viral post in a private Facebook group in Springfield. The post allegedly contained the claim that a neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat and then allegedly found the dead cat hanging from a tree branch near a Haitian neighbor’s house, according to the Springfield News-Sun.

Social media users then shared bodycam footage of an unrelated incident in which an Ohio woman was accused of killing and eating a cat in Canton, a city more than 170 miles from Springfield. The woman has been identified and is not a migrant, as she has lived in Ohio for at least 18 years, according to CBS News.

Some social media users began sharing AI images related to claims about Haitian migrants. One popular image shows Vance’s running mate, former President Donald Trump, holding a cat in each arm with the caption: “The kitties of Springfield have only one hope.”

Springfield has seen an increase in migrant numbers in recent years. According to the city’s website, there are about 12,000 to 15,000 migrants living in Clark County, Ohio. Migrants from Haiti are legal residents of the country under the Immigration Parole Program, the city’s website says.

The racist rhetoric has prompted civil rights groups, including the Springfield NAACP, to step in. “Frankly, it’s embarrassing,” Denice D Williams of the Springfield NAACP told NPR in August.

Officer Jason Via, Springfield’s deputy director of public safety and operations, also told NPR last month that he had seen no evidence of racist allegations.

“I think it’s sad that some people are using this as an opportunity to spread hate or fear,” Via told NPR. “We get these reports: ‘The Haitians are killing ducks in many of our parks,’ or ‘The Haitians are eating vegetables right off the shelf in the supermarket.'”

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“And we haven’t seen any of that,” Via continued. “It’s really frustrating. As a community, it’s not helpful when we’re trying to move forward.”