PARMA, Idaho — The miles along Boise River Road, in Parma, host a mixture of cattle and horses straddling both ends of the boulevard, but there's one less horse to count in this town.
Someone shot and killed his six-year-old horse Codi Friday morning around 6 a.m. Horse owner Dan Erskine counted nine bullet wounds.
"Around the heart area, [the spread] was the size of a coffee cup. So, somebody knew what they were doing," Erksine said. "That was going to be my grandson's little horse. I'm sure she just walked up to the fence to look at those guys just to see what they were doing. And then they just shot her. Makes no sense."
Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue has sent investigators out on scene. The nature of the crime in difficult because there is a low likelihood of security cameras or any eyewitness in rural areas, according to Donahue.
"It's someone being incredibly cowardly, right? It doesn't take a lot of guts to shoot a horse. A fine animal," Donahue said. "Unfortunately, the horse suffered before it died. I don't have anything that tells us that they're hateful of the owner, or there's a neighbor's dispute, or anything like that hasn't come up in the investigation."
One of Erskine's neighbors has security footage loaded onto a thumb drive, according to Erskine. Erskine was unsure if this footage gives any additional details; the footage will be given to police, Erksine told KTVB.
A local businesses owner, Jay Blake, has also offered a $1,000 reward for anyone who offers information leading to an arrest and conviction. Blake owns Bar 20 Cowboy Stuff in Parma. Blake was not interested in a formal interview with KTVB; however, is offering the reward because he lives near the area and finds this behavior unacceptable.
"I do not know [Blake] at all. I've never met him," Erskine said. "That's the way people are out here. We take care of each other."
Depending how the horse was killed, multiple charges are possible, according to Sheriff Donahue. Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor in Idaho; however, a suspect could also be charged with firing their gun from the road, Donahue said.
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