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School locked down after dog shot |
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Friday, 03 October 2008 |
Paron Elementary School temporarily locked its doors Thursday after a dog was shot next to school grounds, officials said.
“We put the school on lock-down for about an hour until the scene was cleared,” Bryant School District Superintendent Richard Abernathy said. “Anytime there is a gunshot at or near a school, as a precautionary measure, we’ll lock down that school.”
Lt. Tim Dudderar with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office said the series of events happened after a Paron man allegedly shot a dog on his property, which is directly next to the school.
The man, whose name was not released, was not cited.
“According to a county ordinance, the Vicious Animal Act, he was within his legal rights,” Dudderar said. “So he was not cited or arrested because of that.”
The Courier received calls Thursday claiming that the dog was shot on the school campus, but Dudderar said officers have not been able to confirm that information.
“A deputy responded to the scene and found out that a man shot a dog on his property and the dog then ran into the school yard and died,” Dudderar said. “Apparently, there were witnesses that testified to the deputy that the dog was in fact shot on his own property. We will do a thorough report, though, of this incident.”
Dudderar said officers responded to the scene within 20 minutes because they had to drive from Benton. The deputy told Dudderar that the dog had “hung around the property for several days” and killed more than 32 of the man’s chickens. After the dog was shot, it ran onto the school grounds and died. The man then reportedly retrieved the dog and carried it off the school grounds.
Sheriff Phil Mask was not available for comment and a Saline County Sheriff’s report was not completed at press time.
Anyone with more information is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 303-5609.
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