Florida Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Neighbor’s Cow

A Florida man is facing charges for allegedly shooting his neighbor’s cow after it got onto his property, causing fatal injuries, authorities said.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Agriculture Unit deputies responded to a ranch on Sharon Drive in North Fort Myers on Tuesday afternoon in response to a report of animal cruelty. When they arrived, the victim reported finding his 2-year-old calf on his neighbor’s property with five gunshot wounds to the guts, chest and rear leg.

A video shared by the sheriff’s office shows the wounded calf, still alive but unable to stand. A veterinarian who responded to the scene determined the calf’s injuries were too severe, and it needed to be euthanized.

According to the victim, neighbor Hung Trinh, 54, has previously gotten angry about livestock jumping the fence, and had threatened to shoot the animals.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Trinh’s property and located a .22 caliber gun in a shed. Trinh was charged with animal cruelty and grand theft of a commercial farm animal.

“There will be accountability for taking your frustrations out on innocent animals, in this case multiple felonies and jail time,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement. “We know how much these animals mean to our farming community, and we will not tolerate these actions. I am proud of my Agriculture Unit for their immediate response and ability to make an arrest in this case.”