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A California gunman has been arrested for massacring over 80 farm animals in a killing spree that lasted three hours.
Vicente Joseph Arroyo, 39, from Salinas, is accused of murdering “miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and other types of birds” in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the Prunedale area, California, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said.
The suspect was apprehended in a vineyard from what “appeared to be a crashed vehicle” in an “extremely dark” area with overgrown shrubbery near Lemus Farm on Avery Lane, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Arroyo lived at the property where the animals resided, but was not employed at the site, Cmdr. Andres Rosas, Monterey County sheriff’s spokesperson, said.
Police added they heard shots being fired at the scene upon arrival.
The animals which survived the attack were taken by non-for-profit group Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) but had to be euthanized due to the severity of their injuries, police said.
In a phone interview with LA Times, Rosas said: “I’ve been in law enforcement for 24 years and I’ve never seen anything like this.
“Being an animal lover, they become part of your family, and for them to be taken in this manner is horrible.”
Bail was intially set at $50,000 but investigators petitioned to raise it to $1m.
A search of Arroyos’ property revealed possession of multiple firearms and Rosas estimated that “2,000 rounds of various calibers of ammunition” had been recovered, The LA Times reports.
Arroyo is being held in Monterey County Jail on multiple charges including cruelty to animals and illegal possession of an assault weapon.
SPCA Monterey County spokesperson Beth Brookhouser described the attack as ‘horrific and heartbreaking’.
“All the animals involved were sadly found deceased except for five severely injured parakeets who needed to be humanely euthanized to end their suffering,” she added.
While the attacker’s motive appears to be random, Arroyo was found to have used multiple weapons including “multiple long rifles, shotguns and handguns; an unlawful assault weapon, along with numerous loaded and empty magazines.”
At the time, police temporarily enforced a five-mile radius shelter while they searched for the gunman as multiple calls had been received by concerned locals.
Police have not yet confirmed a date for the suspect’s court hearing.
