A 17-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing three horses at a major barrel racing event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The attacks occurred at the National Barrel Horse Association's supershow at the South Point equestrian arena on the Las Vegas strip.
According to Arielle Phillips, owner and rider of one of the injured horses named Detail, the suspect had been following her on social media and saw the event as an opportunity to meet her and her mare. Phillips said the girl approached her in the barn late on Saturday evening, asking strange questions, before allegedly attacking the horses minutes after Phillips left.
Las Vegas police said the suspect used a sharp object to inflict multiple injuries on three horses: Detail, Rocket, and Saaul Good, nicknamed Sully. The injuries are not life-threatening but are expected to prevent the horses from competing. The suspect was arrested later that morning at a nearby hotel.
Clark County District Attorney Steven Wolfson is seeking to try the girl as an adult on charges including willful or malicious killing, maiming or torturing an animal, and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property. “These allegations involve deliberate acts of extreme cruelty against defenseless animals,” Wolfson said.
Phillips described the emotional toll on her horse, Detail, saying the mare is now traumatised and fearful of human touch. “This is my best friend. An innocent sweet horse, who only knows how to give me her ALL was brutally tortured for no reason,” she wrote on Facebook.
