Two Hickman County teens are facing charges for shooting 24 cows, 11 of them unborn.
�They just wanted to see what shooting cattle was like. That's basically all you can say," said Hickman County Sheriff Randal Ward.
Ward said the explanation won't justify what they did, but that is the only explanation they�ve given.
The cattle were killed on the Bon Aqua farm of Randall Tidwell. Police say two juvenile boys, 14 and 16 years-old went hunting then trespassed onto the farmer's property. Tidwell found some of his cattle dead while checking his pasture the following day.
"Eleven of the cows were all pregnant and were expecting calves, which was part of the 24 that were dead, and two of them were calves," said Ward.
All of the animals were killed by gunshots. Some were shot twice or three times in the side.
"They died a slow death you could say, within a 24-hour period or longer. So after the ones that he initially found several more died later on from the gunshot wounds," Ward explained.
The owner estimates his loss at $25,000 to $30,000. That doesn't include the value of calves the 11 cows were expected to produce during the next eight years.
�Insurance is not going to be able to cover this. This is a total loss to him. He's lost some cattle plus future cattle that he would have from calves," said Ward.
This incident also potentially poses a bigger concern for the county sheriff.
"Were seeing a great amount of violence among juveniles using weapons, guns, knives or anything they have of real destruction," said Ward.
The sheriff said in this case, a 300 magnum and a 22-caliber rifle were used. Both guns belonged to family members.
It was a family member that notified the sheriff of who was responsible for the cattle shootings. Both juveniles are from Hickman County. The 14 year-old is currently in DCS custody, after escaping twice from state officials after his arrest.
He's also a great-nephew of Mr. Tidwell, but the two are said to have had no relationship.
Each is cited for criminal trespassing and the intentional killing of an animal. They both face a hearing date next month. References« Back to Search Results
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