By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.comA Rockwell man is offering a $2,000 reward to find the person who went into his barn Friday evening and shot two horses in the head at close range.
George Stirewalt Sr., of 180 Butterfly Lane ó near the intersection of Old Concord Road and Beatty Ford Road óput his horses in the barn Friday evening ó just like any other day.
Around 11:30 p.m., his daughter, Montie Cline, who lives closer to the barn, heard shots.
Stirewalt and family members rushed to check on the horses, finding a grisly site. Two of his horses had been shot ó once each under the right eye. Blood was everywhere.
Stirewalt immediately called the South Ridge Veterinary Clinic in Kannapolis which offers emergency care for large animals.
And both horses ó Whittie and Sugar Plum ó are alive and are expected to recover.
Stirewalt fears that the shooting may have resulted from troubles with a neighbor.
He said neighbors were shooting a shotgun and later a .22 rifle toward the pasture where the horses were grazing.
“We could see the bullets popping on the ground between the horses,” Stirewalt said Monday.
He confronted the neighbors and asked them to stop shooting.
After the horses were shot Friday night, deputies from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded.
Capt. John Sifford said the evidence indicated both horses were shot with a small caliber weapon at close range.
“He (the shooter) must have walked in on foot to the barn,” Sifford said.
Using a tracking dog, Deputy Lunda Eller followed the trail to Neazer Street.
Sifford said Investigator Kent Collins has been assigned to the case.
Anyone with information related to the shooting is asked to call 704-216-8700 and ask for Collins.
Stirewalt said Monday that the veterinary bills for the horses may hit $4,000.
But the horses are like part of the family.
Wittie is 24-years-old, a harness racing horse, the family adopted through the Standardbred Retirement Foundation when she was 9 years old.
Sugar Plum, is a 7-year-old quarter horse.
“I’ve got three more. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the others,” Stirewalt said.
While tore up about his horses, Stirewalt, a former deputy sheriff, isn’t happy with the response from the Sheriff’s Office.
He said the tracking dog led the deputies to a house but they opted not to disturb the residents, saying all the lights were off.
His hope is that by offering the $2,000 reward, it will help spur the arrest of the shooter.
Contact Jessie Burchette at 704-797-4254.

Both horses have survived and are on the mend.  See video of the horses here.