Horse shot, killed in Pierce County, deputies investigating

Deputies investigating after family horse shot, killed in Pierce County

Pierce County deputies are investigating after a person allegedly drove up to a horse and shot it to death.

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - Pierce County deputies are investigating after a person allegedly drove up to a horse and shot it to death.

It happened overnight near Vickery Ave S and 132nd St E. Deputies say the owners of the horse "LeMon" found its body in the front of the stable. Neighbors told deputies they heard possible gunshots around midnight.

"There was a huge bang and the dogs all went off. But we really didn't do anything, because we hear stuff like that all the time now," said the horse's owner, Karen Greer. "And then I went out to feed that morning, and the horse didn't nicker at me. I went around the corner and he was laying out dead. And then I went screaming in for my husband."

LeMon was reportedly shot below the eye, and Greer suspects the shooting was at point-blank range, as the bullet broke several bones.

"[I was] calling my daughter in Montana because it's her horse, who she was coming to get in a couple months after she graduates from USC. That was the worst thing to hear in my life over the phone, and I can't be there to hold her. Although, it was probably a good thing she wasn't here to see it," said Greer.

LeMon turned 20 in May. Greer says they have had him since he was eight.

One neighbor showed video of a white car driving on the same street around 12:30 a.m., possibly firing gunshots.

No suspect has been identified.

An online fundraiser has been set up to pool reward money to find a suspect.

Pierce County Crime and Public Safety