LOS ANGELES (CNS) - State wildlife officials said today they will seek the prosecution of a man caught on camera shooting a young deer with a bow and arrow near homes in Monrovia last week, killing it.
“We have interviewed the suspect and (are) conducting an investigation,'' Andrew Hughan of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement this morning. “We are planning on filing a case with the L.A. County District Attorney.''
Hughan did not specify what charges would be sought.
Witnesses found the incident upsetting.
“I couldn't believe it. I'm like, 'You've got to be kidding me,''' Chuck Tapert, who caught the incident on his home surveillance camera, told CBS2. ''Somebody took a shot at a deer right in front of our house in a residential neighborhood?''
The video shows an archer shooting a deer in a forested area next to Tapert's house, followed by the deer running away down the street. The deer then died.
Monrovia police said they were notified of the incident on Saturday morning, and that the suspect has since been identified and found, the Los Angeles Times reported. Police said it's illegal to shoot deer within city limits.
Several media outlets identified the suspect as Michael Rodriguez. He told CBS2 that he first shot the animal in the forest, but the buck didn't die because he hit it near its spine. He followed the deer into the residential neighborhood so he could kill it.
“I was following up a wounded animal and taking him out so he wasn't suffering anymore,'' Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez told CBS2 L.A. that the deer is now in his freezer and will be used to feed his family.