Salinas man arrested after shooting spree that killed at least 80 animals

A bloody shootout in California this week left at least 80 animals dead and sent neighbors fleeing for safety in the middle of the night, authorities said.

A man, Vicente Joseph Arroyo of Salinas, was arrested after firing several weapons in a vineyard in Prunedale over a three-hour period on Tuesday, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Prunedale is a dependent municipality in Monterey County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.

Shortly before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, the sheriff's office responded to calls reporting multiple shots fired and shortly thereafter issued a stay-at-home order for residents within a 5-mile radius.

“The firing of weapons of various calibers could be heard in an area that was extremely dark and covered in dense vegetation,” the press release said. “This made it difficult for officers to immediately locate the person or persons responsible for firing the weapons.”

Officers from several agencies arrived at the scene and by sunrise, authorities had located the suspect and a crashed vehicle on a road in the vineyard.

After Arroyo, 39, was taken into custody without incident, authorities found a stash of weapons, including several long rifles, shotguns, handguns and an illegal assault weapon.

Photos from the crime scene posted by the sheriff's office on social media showed large amounts of ammunition and what appeared to be at least one bulletproof vest.

About 80 animals were killed in the shooting, authorities found, including miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and birds. Arroyo lived in a trailer next to the property where the animals were killed, according to Commander Andres Rosas, a spokesman for the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

The animals did not belong to Arroyo, Rosas said. One of the animals killed belonged to the neighboring landowner, and the rest were kept in pens there by a tenant of the land.

Some animals initially survived but were later euthanized due to the severity of their injuries, authorities said.

Arroyo was booked into the Monterey County Jail on charges of willful and negligent discharge of a firearm, cruelty to animals, illegal possession of an assault weapon, vandalism, uttering criminal threats and criminal possession of a weapon. His bail was set at $50,000.

The sheriff's office said Thursday that it was not aware of a motive for the violence.

Jason Maynard, a neighbor, recalled the chaos that night, telling television station KSBW and other local news outlets that he told his wife and child to drop to the ground after hearing the gunshots.

“It's a terrible sight,” Rosas told the news channel. “We are very happy that no lives were lost.”

Rosas said there was no evidence that the suspect was looking for anyone specific and that the animals appeared to be the target.

“I've been doing this for over 24 years now,” he said, “and no, unfortunately I've never experienced anything like this in terms of loss of animal life.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Times.