INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD is asking for the public's help in finding the person or people responsible for shooting and killing a horse on the southwest side of Indianapolis.
Property owners told police they left Dashin Kitty, a 20-year-old American quarter horse, outside like they normally did in the 5700 block of West Southport Road, near Mann Road, on Monday, June 6.
The next morning, the horse was found with a gunshot wound between its eyes.
The horse's owner, Kyle Keller, can't fathom what happened to the mare she called "Pinch."
Keller told 13News she doesn't know who could have killed the animal or why, but she's determined to find the person responsible for killing a horse she said was loved by everyone who came to the stable.
"It was not just some animal in a yard somewhere. They took a best friend. They took a family member," Keller said.
Keller has 10 other horses at Taylor Turn Stable, but said Pinch was always a favorite.
"Everybody from the young to the old worked with her," she said.
Monday night was the last time Keller saw Pinch, as she grazed on hay with the other horses in the pasture. The next morning, the horse was found dead.
"This was no accident. Somebody had to walk up within very close range and do this to this horse," Keller said.
Police think it was intentional, too. Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana has picked up the case and is asking for tips from the public.
"I don't believe I know anyone personally who would do this," Keller said.
But she said she knows of the same thing happening to other horses in Indiana in the past year. Police said horse owners in the area should take precautions to secure their animals inside overnight, if possible.
"We're all on high alert," Keller said.
The stable owner is hoping cameras in the area captured something, like video of the person or persons she believes snuck into her pasture and killed her beloved horse.
"I don't know how they chose her. I don't know why they chose her, but I do know this was not an accident, that this was a criminal act and that the people need to be caught and prosecuted," Keller said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call IMPD Det. Tiffany Mastin in the department's Nuisance Abatement Office at 317-327-1270, or email her at Tiffany.Mastin@indy.gov. Tips can also be called in to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
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