A Pennsylvania police chief says his stepson is one of the two teenagers seen in a disturbing online video of deer abuse.

That widely viewed video surfaced over the weekend. The 30-second clip led to a huge backlash online

Erie News Now has learned that Brookville, Pa. Police Chief Vince Markle says his stepson Alex Smith, 18, is one of the two teens in that video.

Markle told the city's solicitor that he recognized him right away. The chief says he's sickened by the whole thing.

Authorities are vowing no favoritism for Chief Markle's son. His department's not handling the ongoing investigation. That's the job of the State Commission and the Jefferson County DA office.

The other teen's been identified as Cody Hetrick, 16. They are both students at Brookville High School.

An online petition calling for both teens to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law already has more than 530,000 signatures.