The possum did not die easily.

A 15-year-old counselor at Mesquite's Camp Rorie Galloway hit it several times with an ax before it died. The animal's young also were killed – all while campers ages 6 to 12 looked on. No adults were present as the incident unfolded.

No animal cruelty charges are being filed in the incident, which occurred last week at the campgrounds in a wooded area near Cartwright and Lawson roads. But some parents say they're upset over what their children witnessed.

Officials with the city, which runs the summer day camp, are investigating what happened.

"The situation was not one of just meanness," said Mark Hindman, Mesquite assistant city manager. "I think there was some fear, some anger and just not sure how to treat a wild animal."

An adult counselor at the camp found the possum in a trash can last Wednesday as campers arrived, about 8 a.m. The counselor put the lid on the can and went to call animal control, leaving the children alone with several teen counselors in training.

The details of what followed aren't clear. Hindman said the city had talked to the counselors and several of the campers. According to them, someone took the can's lid off and the possum jumped out.

Some said the possum jumped on a boy who pushed it off. Another boy threw a log at the animal, hitting it, Hindman said.

"One of the boys decided to put it out of its misery," Hindman said.

The teen counselor took an ax from a camp office, chased the possum and hacked it to death. The babies then emerged, possibly from the mother's pouch. They also were killed, though the young campers were unsure how, Hindman said.

Camper Clifford Hayward, 9, remembers it differently. He said he did not see the possum jump on anybody, and that the teen counselor went after the ax before the possum got out of the can.

"Nobody cried," Clifford said. "They were just real mad."

Clifford said several of his friends talked about calling police on their cellphones but eventually left to get on a bus for a field trip.

Hindman said the three teen counselors involved were immediately dismissed from the program. He would not give their names or ages because they are juveniles. The teen counselors aid the adult counselors but are not intended to be in charge.

The state considers possums to be nuisance animals and they can be killed if a property owner considers them a problem. Hindman said if Mesquite's animal control had captured the possum, it probably would have been released elsewhere.

The city received several phone calls from parents upset over the incident, but Hindman said he is not aware of anyone pulling a child from the program.

Camp Rorie Galloway is a day camp that lasts six weeks. For $75 a week, campers may participate one week or more. The campers participate in nature-related activities, including canoeing, swimming fishing, hiking and archery.

There is a different field trip each week. The day the possum was killed, campers were going to a water park.

Clifford's mother, Kristen Hayward, said her sons didn't tell her about the incident on Wednesday; she learned from a camp supervisor at a parents' night the next day.

"When the real story came out, I was horrified," she said.