A beloved horse was found dead from a gunshot wound this weekend in Pierce County.
The owners of the horse named LeMon found him in front of the stable, which sits on the corner of 132nd Street East and Vickery Avenue East. Neighbors heard possible gunshots about midnight Sunday, about the time LeMon was shot, according to Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss.
Moss said that video from a neighbor shows a white car driving west on 132nd Street East at about 12:30 a.m. There are crackling sounds, which could be gunshots but it is hard to say.
Moss said deputies could not confirm whether the driver of the white car was involved in the shooting.
Karen Greer, LeMon's owner, said everyone in the neighborhood, including herself, heard the gunshots but they were used to the noise so it was not unusual. The veterinarian told Greer that the bullet hit LeMon pointblank and traveled into his neck from the front of his face.
"I found him in the morning just laying out dead, and I'll never get that out of my head," she said.
Greer said that her daughter, Delanie Greer-Breakall, considered LeMon her heart horse. A heart horse is a horse whose soul compliments your own. Greer-Breakall and LeMon would often go trail riding together. They competed in the World Appaloosa Show together three years ago. They were also Reserve World Champions.
Greer-Breakall lives in Montana and was planning on bringing LeMon there in May.
"I am broken, and I just don't want this person to do it to someone else, too. LeMon was a one of a kind and will never be replaced. He was killed in the most senseless way possible," Greer-Breakall told The News Tribune.
Greer said the horse loved interacting with people. She believes that the night LeMon was killed, he most likely walked up to the person who shot him.
Greer's neighbors have been checking their cameras to see if they could find footage of the suspect. A GoFundMe was set up on Wednesday to raise funds that will go to a reward for information leading to the person who shot LeMon. So far, close to $4,000 have been raised.
Greer said LeMon's killing has affected not just her family but the neighborhood. LeMon was described as the neighborhood's horse and people would stop by to pet him.
"I really hope this helps people become very vigilant in taking care of their own animals, not because they aren't, but because other people are out to do evil," she said.
