NEWS AND COMMENT: Cowboy Trail Rides in the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area just outside Las Vegas, provide a riding experience to customers on well-trained gentle horses in the distinctive countryside of this area of America. But among the piece and charm of this landscape there is a gunmen who thinks that there should be no horses in the area and he decided to start removing them by shooting them dead at close range over the past seven months.
The most recent killing took place on July 4. The male suspect who conceals his identity was captured on surveillance cameras creeping onto the business’s property. Branch manager Michael Flood told Fox 5 Las Vegas, “You gotta be a sick individual to shoot a horse in the pen”. I thoroughly agree.
He said that he had confronted a man who had sabotaged the trails because, as mentioned, he apparently disapproved of the presence of horses in the area and therefore their business. At that time, he was putting rocks on the horse manure and sprinkling “Ajax” on the trail.
Three horses have been killed since January according to Las Vegas Metro Police Lt David Valenta. He is working with the Federal Bureau of Land Management to try and solve the case.
The shootings always occur at night, he said, with the suspect “actively concealing his identity”. The security camera footage appears to show a man wearing a ski mask and ear protectors. He is seen wandering around the fence line of the ranch. In one sequence he can be seen holding a handgun.
PETA is offering a $5000 reward for information leading to his capture. Colleen O’Brien, the senior vice president, said: “Red Rock’s gentle horses are in danger and they need the public’s help. PETA urges anyone with information to come forward so this killer can be held accountable and stopped from shooting more animals.”
Further, a group called Friends a Red Rock Canyon is offering a $1000 reward, also for information leading to the man’s arrest.
Below are some more pages on crimes.
