Dog shot in owner's yard
Gibsonton, FL (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011
County: Hillsborough

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: William Bryson

An elderly Gibsonton man shot his neighbor's pit bull between the eyes with a rifle, Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies said. The dog died.

The dog's owner says she was inside her home around lunchtime Thursday when she heard a single gunshot in her back yard. She went to investigate and found her nine-year-old pit bull, Sable, laying in a pool of blood.

"My neighbor's standing by my back fence watching my dog go into convulsions," said Chasity Lewis. "He shot my dog between the eyes."

The suspect, Eighty-five year old William Bryson, confirmed he shot the dog. "The dog is vicious and it was coming after me and I killed it," said Bryson.

However Bryson admitted, the dog was on the other side of a chain-link fence when he shot it. "He was sticking his head under the fence," said Bryson. "I was afraid for my life."

Bryson was charged with animal cruelty.

References

• « FL State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Hillsborough County, FL

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