Five animals shot to death
Jonesborough, TN (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007
County: Washington
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Detectives said someone shot five animals early Tuesday morning around the Conklin Road area, southwest of Jonesborough. Two cows, two horses and a dog died in the shootings. One of the heifers was pregnant.
"This is my first case where somebody has just randomly driven down the road and shot animals at will," Investigator Jared Taylor said.
"It's been a tough year on farmers anyway with the drought and prices and everything," Jerry Smith, that cow's owner, said. "And then something like this just complicates the situation."
Smith estimates his Holstein was worth probably $2,000. Losing money wasn't his biggest concern though: the safety of his and his neighbors' property was.
Investigators found a bullet in one of the cows Tuesday evening. They are working to match the calibur and hope that leads them to the weapon the shooter used.
"They {the shooter or shooters} probably were using a spotlight to identify the animal and they could just see the glare of the eyes and they shot for that," he said. "They weren't off but just a matter of a few inches."
One of the horses that died from Tuesday's shootings was going to be a Christmas gift from a family to their little boy.
"They were not very happy that they were going to have to explain to their nine year-old son, who's in school right now, that his early Christmas present is lying out in the field dead," Taylor said. "(This was) very disrespectful to the property owners -- very disrespectful to the community."
Darrell Woods, who just lives a couple miles from Smith, said he didn't know how farmers could protect their livestock.
"You can't live with them; you can't stay here day and night," he said. "
Washington County, TN, investigators are looking for information in this case. Call 423-461-1414 if you know anything. References« TN State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Washington County, TN
|
