Vicente Joseph Arroyo allegedly shot at least 80 farm animals in the middle of the night in California (Pictures: Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)
A man went on an inexplicable spree shooting at least 80 farm animals in the middle of the night as families slept.
Vicente Joseph Arroyo, 39, started to ‘randomly fire multiple weapons’ over three hours early Tuesday, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to reports of gunfire just before 3.30am and could hear shots around a vineyard in Prunedale, California. They imposed a shelter-in-place for a five-mile radius while looking for the shooter.
‘Various calibers of weapons could be heard being fired in an area that was extremely dark and covered in thick vegetation,’ stated the sheriff’s office.
Only when the sun began to rise and through using a drone did law enforcement officials find a crashed vehicle on the 16000 block of Avery Lane with a person inside.
Monterey County SWAT team members approached in an armored tank and took the suspect, identified as Arroyo, into custody without incident.
Authorities ‘discovered that Arroyo had killed approximately 80 animals including miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and other types of birds’, according to the sheriff’s office.
Some of the animals were saved but others were euthanized because their injuries were so critical.
Multiple weapons were recovered including several long rifles, handguns, shotguns and an unlawful assault firearm. Some of the magazines were loaded.
‘It is a horrible scene,’ Monterey County sheriff’s Commander Andres Rosas told KSBW.
‘We are very fortunate that no human lives were lost.’
Arroyo, of Salinas, has been charged with cruelty to animals, willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, illegal possession of an assault weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, vandalism and criminal threats.
He is being held at Monterey County Jail with his bail set at $50,000.
Arroyo did not appear to target humans, Rosas said.
‘I’ve unfortunately never seen anything like this,’ he said, ‘When it comes to animal life lost.’
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