4-year-old horse found shot to death inside private Gaston Co. pasture

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities are trying to find the person who they said shot a horse to death in a Gaston County pasture.

Moonpie -- a 4-year-old mare -- was found dead Monday morning at a private pasture near Rankin Road.

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Cassie Dumas owns the farm where Moonpie played.

She heard the gunshots Sunday night.

"Really quick, ‘Bam, bam, bam, bam,’" Dumas said.

Dumas saw Moonpie standing still in the corral designed as the horse's personal sanctuary.

She didn't know the shots hit Moonpie until Monday morning.

[ALSO READ: 4 teenagers arrested in shooting of horses in Winston-Salem]

Police recovered more than a dozen shell casings from two different guns.

All of the shots were aimed at Moonpie.

"I don't know what would go through someone's mind to make them do that,” Dumas said. “It's just a sickening thought, but it had to be somebody who knew she was there."

She started a Facebook page called Justice For Moonpie and within 24 hours, people donated $1,700 toward a reward to find the shooter.

Dumas said she has been overwhelmed by the support, and she said the shooter should be alarmed.

"Come forward,” Dumas said. “Don’t be a coward. It was a cowardly act."

No arrests have been made.

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