Suspects sought in horse, cow shootings
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on December 3, 2008 1:46 PM
Authorities are searching for a suspect in two separate shootings that killed two farm animals, a cow and a horse, Wayne County Animal Control officials said.
But ballistic analysis, which is sometimes used in animal shootings, will not help locate the suspect because of the nature of the wounds, Animal Control Director Justin Scally said.
A cow was shot first, found by its owner David Jacobs of N.C. 55, Mount Olive on the morning of Nov. 18, Scally said.
The cow was confined to a pasture when found by its owner, who called Animal Control a few hours later, Scally said.
Then, a horse running loose on Adams Road in Seven Springs was shot sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 19, the animal control director said.
Scally did not have the name of the horse's owner, who called at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 19, he said.
Animal Control officials tried to locate bullet casings in the area of the shootings, but the efforts were fruitless, Scally said.
Because the bullet passed completely through the animals, forensic analysis cannot be used because officials could not locate the projectiles themselves, the animal control director said.
"Unfortunately, it looks like ... the bullet went through completely on both sides," Scally said. "We were considering that (ballistic analysis), which we have utilized in other cases, but we could not because the bullet could not be retrieved."