‘Somebody will talk,’ Authorities search for person who shot little girl’s horse, Cinch
By Taylor Thompson
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HENDERSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting of a horse that happened Saturday.
Dale Bradley, who owns the horse, said he has rented the pasture on Hyder Allen Road for about 10 years. He lives away from the pasture and wasn’t there when the shooting occurred.
He said that at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday he and his family went to the pasture to ride their horses and take care of the livestock. That’s when they saw the horse lying on the ground.
Cinch belonged to Bradley’s girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter. They had only had Cinch for about four months before the shooting happened.
“She was heartbroken. She cried about it for two days,” Bradley said.
Bradley immediately contacted the authorities.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office took to its Facebook page over the weekend, calling the incident “appalling” and asking the public for help in finding whoever shot the horse.
The investigation is being led by Animal Control Cpl. Brad Reece, who released the following statement:
We take incidents like this very seriously, and we are committed to finding the person responsible for this senseless act of violence against an innocent animal.” The incident report called the incident felony animal cruelty.
“From where the horse was shot, I find it hard to believe that it was an accident because the horse was shot between the eyes,” Bradley said.
Neighbors said they heard a gunshot in the distance that day. But Bradley said he had spoken with neighbors, and they didn’t see anything, only heard a shot.
Still, Bradley is confident someone will come forward with information.
“Everybody keep your ears open. Somebody will talk. Somebody will say something,” he said.
Bradley said he hasn’t heard any new updates from the sheriff’s office and that they’re still searching for the suspect.
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