2 juveniles arrested on aggravated animal cruelty charges in shooting death of pet dog
Two juveniles have been arrested after an investigation into the shooting death of a pet dog.
No information about the juveniles was released by the Alexandria Police Department, other than that both were arrested on charges of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
The arrests come less than a week after the death of Tucker, a six-pound chihuahua that belonged to the family of Alexandria resident Latoya Easley Hamilton.
She told The Town Talk that she filed a police report on Monday after hearing rumors that an Alexandria Senior High School student shot Tucker during a senior prank.
The shooting happened on May 13, she said. The dog was found by a neighbor between their yard and hers, and she said it looked like the dog had been trying to get back home.
Hamilton said Tucker sometimes would wiggle out of their back yard, but she said he never strayed far or for long. She said they sometimes would find him in neighbors' yards.
She was set to take her 15-year-old daughter, also an ASH student, to try out for the volleyball team on the day of the shooting. When she arrived to pick up her daughter, she found her hysterical, she said.
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Hamilton said she saw a little blood on the dog, but nothing that would indicate a serious issue. She said she thought he might be dehydrated. But when she picked him up and found him to be mostly unresponsive, Tucker was taken to Crossroads Animal Emergency Clinic.
An X-ray revealed a projectile lodged in his chest. He died as he was being prepped for emergency surgery.
The family later posted about Tucker's death on a neighborhood chat and Facebook.
Word got the family on Monday from another student who overheard a group talking at the school about how someone had shot a small dog while doing senior pranks in the Bocage subdivision. After that, Hamilton decided to file the report.
While the investigation was underway, social media commenters were appalled by Tucker's death. Some began posting screenshots of comments purportedly from ASH students who were talking about the incident.
One included a photo of four young men standing in the McDonald's parking lot on Jackson Street, three of them holding pellet-type guns.
Because the two arrested are juveniles, no information will be available about the outcome of those cases. The department has stated an investigation is continuing, however.
Anyone who has information on Tucker's shooting can call detectives at 318-441-6416 or 318-441-6559.
Tips can be left with Crime Stoppers of Cenla for possible cash rewards. Call 318-443-7867 or use their app at www.p3tips.com/community/mobile.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Alexandria Police arrest 2 juveniles on cruelty charges in dog's death
