No suspects as yet.
AB Wire
Police are investigating the murder of a horse belonging to an Indian American family in Tennessee as a hate crime.
Devinder Sandhu called police when a man delivering grain to his farm from a local brewery found his horse shot in the head Tuesday morning along Toney Carroll Road, in Scottboro, reported News Channel 5 Network.
The Tennessean reported Misty Blue was shot dead by a single bullet to 1,200-pound horse’s head was all it took.
Metro Nashville Police Department officials are investigating it as a possible hate crime. It happened sometime between Noon on Sunday and 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. The road near the pasture where the horse was found is a private, dead-end road.
The Sandus raised 17-year-old Misty Blue by hand since she was born in their pasture. His son named her after the misty morning of her birth. They said the Tennessee Walking Horse had a big, friendly personality, the TV news report said.
“She would have greeted somebody who came up to the fence,” Sandu said sadly.
Police said her death was not a hunting accident. The North Prescient and specialized investigations unit is checking to see whether this was a hate-crime.
Sandhu is Sikh and wears a turban. He fears someone may have targeted him, but hopes that wasn’t the case. He says his beard and turban are as old as the Sikh religion.
“So that we couldn’t hide or blend into the crowd, so we could stand for our beliefs which was protecting the innocent,” he said.
He says the family misses Misty Blue terribly.
“It’s been a couple days and I still can’t do it,” he said, “I cannot imagine coming out here and not seeing her. It’s very difficult.”
The family has offered a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest. They’ve also set up a gofundme page to raise that reward to $10,000.
“Misty Blue was born on our property and was our household pet,” said Susan Eslick, the wife of Sandhu, an environmental engineer, coach and part owner of the Nashville Metros soccer team, reported the Tennessean. “For 20 years the farm has been a place of delight and sanctuary for those who have visited. Since this happened it’s all be horrible.”
“They tell him, ‘Go back to where you came from,'” she said. “But my husband has been a vibrant part of the Nashville community. He graduated from Vanderbilt University. Whether this is a hate crime directed at my family who are constantly mistaken for being Muslim or just a random act of violence from someone looking for something to shoot … is yet to be determined. All I know is the person who did this has no regard for a life whether it be a human or an animal.”
Last Wednesday, sounds of sorrow could be heard coming from a barn near the field where Misty Blue was killed. Inside was Misty Blue’s mother, a 30-year-old horse, who Eslick said raised the mare on their property, reported the Tennessean.
“Her mother is in the barn and just has been crying for her,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking.”