Horse shot to death in Roy pasture, police investigating
Cinnamon, a quarter horse, was shot to death in her Roy pasture on Feb. 3 or 4, 2017. Police are investigating. Here Cinnamon is pictured with horse owner Gail Larsen's great-granddaughter Lydia.
Gail Larsen's 21-year-old quarter horse Cinnamon was shot to death on the Roy man's pasture late Friday or early Saturday, Feb. 3-4, 2017. Roy police are investigating but there are no suspects.
Gail Larsen's 21-year-old quarter horse Cinnamon was shot to death on the Roy man's pasture late Friday or early Saturday, Feb. 3-4, 2017. Roy police are investigating but there are no suspects.
Cinnamon, a quarter horse, was shot to death in her Roy pasture on Feb. 3 or 4, 2017. Police are investigating.
ROY — The shooting death of a beloved 21-year-old quarter horse named Cinnamon has stunned four generations of the Larsen family of Roy.
The Roy Police Department was investigating Monday, Feb. 6, trying to determine who shot the horse twice in the head, either late Friday or early Saturday. The crime occurred at Gail Larsen’s five-acre spread, which is surrounded by residential subdivisions and sits across the street from Rocky Mountain Junior High.
“She was the greatest, most gentle horse,” Larsen said as he watched detectives, crime scene personnel and animal control officers work at the scene.
“This is just terrible, cruel,” he said. “And someone who could do this could just as easily shoot a person.”
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MARK SHENEFELT/Standard-Examiner
Gail Larsen’s 21-year-old quarter horse Cinnamon was shot to death on the Roy man’s pasture late Friday or early Saturday, Feb. 3-4, 2017. Roy police are investigating but there are no suspects. The pasture is surrounded by homes and Rocky Mountain Junior High School is across the street.
By about 11 a.m. Monday, the investigation was under way. Detective Josh Taylor said there are no suspects.
“We’re hoping to recover one of the bullets and talk to the neighbors to see if anybody saw or heard anything,” he said.
Two other horses on the property were not harmed.
Gail Larsen’s horse Cinnamon was shot to death and the family is heartbroken. @standardex #animalcruelty pic.twitter.com/RFSjtH4NaP
— Mark Shenefelt (@mshenefelt) February 6, 2017
Gene Larsen, Gail’s son, was irritated by what he said was a slow, confused police response to the shooting. He said the family reported it Sunday and were told the case was low priority and officers would respond Monday.
Pointing at the nearby subdivisions and the school, Gene Larsen said an animal being shot in a populated area deserved a quicker reaction. He said the first police to arrive Monday, a patrol officer and an animal control officer, were debating whether the location — 4620 S. 4300 West — was within Roy’s city boundaries.
“You’ve got a shooting in a crowded area and they’re arguing about whose case it is,” Gene Larsen said.
Taylor said police weren’t able to respond Sunday evening because they were tied up on two traffic accidents, three family fights, a domestic violence assault and a woman threatening to jump in front of a train.
“We are not trying to minimize (the horse shooting) but when we have a lot of calls, people take precedence,” Taylor said. “We did apologize to the family this morning.”
Jamie Larsen Ware, Gail’s granddaughter and Gene’s daughter, also was at the farm Monday, with her 4-year-old daughter, who claimed Cinnamon as hers.
She said her daughter loved to help feed and water the horse. She sat on Cinnamon’s back and petted and kissed her.
“Cinnamon was very lovable and kind,” Larsen Ware said. “Everybody just loved her. All the kids and the great-grandkids are very upset and very heartbroken.”
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MARK SHENEFELT/Standard-Examiner
Gail Larsen’s 21-year-old quarter horse Cinnamon was shot to death on the Roy man’s pasture late Friday or early Saturday, Feb. 3-4, 2017. Roy police are investigating but there are no suspects.
Gene Larsen said it was another level of tragedy for his father. “My mom died eight years ago, and this place is his life,” he said, gesturing at the pasture.
Larsen Ware said her grandfather has worked the land for several decades, keeping cows and horses and raising pigs.
She said she thinks “somebody’s been watching down there … somebody’s been messing around.”
Six months ago, someone cut off Cinnamon’s tail, Larsen Ware said.
“It’s scary,” she said. “Somebody shooting an animal here could have hit a child, it could have hit my grandfather, and with the school right there …,” she said.
The owner is offering a $5,000 dollar rewards for any tips or information that leads to the conviction of the person responsible, according to a Facebook post by the Roy Police Department. If you saw or heard anything in the area of 4620 S 4300 West in Roy, contact Gene Larsen at 801-725-6198.
You may also contact Roy police dispatch at 801-629-8221.
You can reach reporter Mark Shenefelt at mshenefelt@standard.net or 801-625-4224. Follow him on Twitter at @mshenefelt and like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SEmarkshenefelt.