A California man has been arrested after his nighttime shooting spree left over 80 animals dead, sparking panic among residents. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Prunedale, a rural community roughly 100 miles south of San Francisco. The sheriff's office responded to reports of gunfire and issued a shelter-in-place order for residents within a five-mile radius, according to a report in NYT.
The suspect, 39-year-old Vicente Joseph Arroyo of Salinas, was taken into custody after firing multiple weapons for over three hours in a vineyard. Law enforcement described the scene as extremely dark and heavily vegetated, making it challenging to locate the suspect immediately.
Officers from several agencies eventually tracked down Arroyo and found his vehicle crashed along a vineyard road by dawn. He was arrested without resistance. A search of the area revealed a large cache of firearms, including rifles, shotguns, handguns and an illegal assault weapon. The authorities also found a stockpile of ammunition and bulletproof vests at the scene.
Among the animals killed were miniature horses, goats, rabbits, chickens and various birds, according to Commander Andres Rosas of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office. Most animals were kept in pens on rented land adjacent to Arroyo's trailer. While some initially survived, many had to be euthanised due to severe injuries. Authorities confirmed the animals did not belong to Arroyo but were the property of a neighbouring landowner and a tenant who rented the land.
Following his arrest, Arroyo was booked on multiple charges, including animal cruelty, wilful discharge of a firearm, illegal possession of an assault weapon and vandalism. His bail was Initially set at $50,000 (around Rs 41.96 lakh) but was then raised to $1,000,000 (around Rs 8.39 crore), stated a report in KTVU FOX 2.
The report quoted Commander Rosas as saying, “I've been doing this for 24 plus years now, and no, I've unfortunately never seen anything like this when it comes to animal life lost.”
The incident has left the small community of Prunedale in shock. Jason Maynard, a resident, described the chaos of that night, telling KSBW that upon hearing the gunshots, he instructed his wife and child to get down on the floor for safety.
The reports added that officials have not yet identified a motive for the shooting.
