Horses shot Tolleson, AZ (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 County: Maricopa Local Map: available Disposition: Open Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case ID: 5273 Classification: Shooting Animal: horse View more cases in AZ (US) Reward: $5,000 Login to Watch this Case

A string of West Valley horse shootings over the past month has puzzled investigators and worried animal owners.

Police are searching for one or more gunmen who shot four horses, three of which died, in Tolleson and Avondale.

A fifth horse was injured on a Maricopa County island near Avondale from a possible shotgun blast, though officials are not sure if the incident is connected to the others that likely involved small-caliber guns. advertisement

Ballistics experts are comparing bullets from dead horses in Avondale and Tolleson, searching for possible connections between the shooting incidents.

The most recent shooting was the night of July 29 , when a stud colt was shot and killed in Tolleson.

Sgt. Jeff Pizzi, a spokesman for Tolleson police, said an injured burro was found over the weekend with some kind of wound on one of its ears, but he could not confirm that the animal had been shot.

"(The wound) wasn't as clearly defined as the bullet holes in the horses," Pizzi said.

The Tolleson shootings have troubled horse owners in the town's Tolsun Farms equestrian community, south of Interstate 10 roughly between 91st and 85th avenues.

The shootings began in late June, when a horse owned by a local judge in Tolsun Farms was shot. Initially, investigators thought the horse was targeted by someone upset with its owner. But with a second shooting in early July, also in Tolsun Farms, investigators considered other possibilities.

Ted Morales, 50, a Tolsun Farms horse owner who has lived in the area since 1985, said many residents in the community are staying up late at night to guard against any future shootings.

"We're not sure how to deal with this," Morales said. "We don't know who to be vigilant for."

Morales is trying to keep his four performance horses, used for team roping events, in covered stalls at night.

"There's a monetary value you put on horses, then there's the emotional value you put on them," he said.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is contributing to the investigation, using the agency's animal cruelty experts to create criminal profiles on the one or more suspects involved in the shootings.

The suspect could face felony charges for animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in city limits, according to police.

A $5,000 award is offered to anyone with information about the horse shootings. Call Silent Witness at (480) 948-6377.

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References

The Arizona Republic - Aug 1, 2005

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