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By Pandora Dewan
Senior Science Reporter
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A teenager in Idaho has been taken into custody after allegedly shooting five cows dead on Sunday, with a value of more than $22,000.
The Bonneville County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that deputies had responded to a call in the Swan Valley on Sunday afternoon after a rancher discovered his herd had been slaughtered.
"Information from area ranchers identified a vehicle of interest that had been in the area at the time," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
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On Monday morning, deputies tracked down the "juvenile" associated with the vehicle, who reportedly confessed to killing the animals. Details regarding the age and gender of the teenager involved in the most recent incident have not been released at this time.
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The juvenile was taken into custody and booked into the 3B Juvenile Detention Facility in Idaho Falls. Felony charges for Malicious Injury to Property are still pending for the suspect, according to the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office.
This is not the first such incident in the Swan Valley area. In August 2017, at least eight Angus beef cows were confirmed dead in Fall and June Creek, according to the Associated Press. The cows belonged to the Fall Creek Basin Cattlemen's Association—a group of cattle producers who share the grazing land in the area—with an estimated value of $1,500 for each cow.
According to Barb Croft, an affiliate of the Cattlemen's Association, all eight cows were shot in the head. Lieutenant Kevin Casper said at the time that cattle shooting occurs in the area every year, although usually not to this degree.
News of Sunday's incident has caused a stir on social media, with many sharing their thoughts on Facebook.
"At $2500 per cow, hopefully he'll be busy enough to stay out of trouble while he repays the owner for damages," one Facebook user commented.
"Privileged kid with a slap on the wrist waiting," another person wrote, with a third commenting, "What's wrong with people?"
It is unclear how the suspect was able to obtain the firearm, as under the U.S. Gun Control Act, it is illegal on the federal level to sell shotguns and rifles to anyone under the age of 18 with certain exceptions. Juveniles are also prohibited from knowingly possessing handguns or handgun ammunition.
But across the United States, young people are getting their hands on guns at an alarmingly high rate. A national survey by the National Center for Juvenile Justice in 2019 found that 4.4 percent of high school students had carried a gun in the past year while 3 percent had carried a weapon of any description onto school property.
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