A Florida man is facing criminal charges after police say he opened fire on a cow that had wandered onto his property.
Hung Trinh, 55, has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty and theft of a commercial farm animal, WSVN-7 reported. The Lee Lee County Sheriff's Office was called by the cow's owner once he realized that the two-year-old cow had been shot numerous times.
The Lee County Sheriff's Agricultural Unit could not find anything wrong with a fence that separated Trinh's property from the owner of the cow's. Authorities believe the cow might have jumped the fence, the station reported.
"The suspect had threatened to shoot the livestock had it gone back on their property as well so throughout the investigation, we learned that's exactly what happened," Lee County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Julie Sin said.
The cow received gunshot wounds to its guts, chest, and rear leg. Due to the calf's injuries, a veterinarian determined the calf needed to be euthanized, the sheriff's office said.
Police got a search warrant and recovered a .22 caliber gun 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."
