(FORT MEYERS, FL) — A man in Florida has been arrested for shooting his neighbor’s cow five times after it wandered onto his property, police said.
The incident happened in North Fort Myers in Florida on May 13 when members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Unit responded to a call from a ranch of Sharon Drive regarding reports of animal cruelty, according to a statement from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
“Deputies were informed that a victim located his 2-year-old calf on the neighbor’s property with five gunshot wounds to the guts, chest, and rear leg,” police said. “Due to the calf’s injuries, a veterinarian determined the calf needed to be euthanized.”
The cow’s owner stated the neighbor, 54-year-old Hung Trinh, had been “angry in the past about livestock jumping the fence and threatened to shoot the animals,” according to authorities.
Detectives from the First Precinct ended up obtaining a search warrant and were able to locate the .22 caliber gun allegedly used in the shooting in a shed on Trinh’s property.
“There will be accountability for taking your frustrations out on innocent animals, in this case multiple felonies and jail time,” said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “We know how much these animals mean to our farming community, and we will not tolerate these actions. I am proud of my Agriculture Unit for their immediate response and ability to make an arrest in this case.”
Trinh was charged with animal cruelty and grand theft of a commercial farm animal.
The investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.
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