Talk about the "dog days" of summer."
www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/policeblotter-0/112478634596600.xml&coll=1Dog Shot in Driveway
East Syracuse police accuse man next door
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
By Jim McKeever
Staff writer
As several children and adults sat on a porch on Highland Avenue in East Syracuse on Monday morning, their next-door neighbor came outside and fired a .45-caliber handgun at their pit bull in their driveway, wounding it, the dog's owners say.
Bruce E. Moore, 53, of 423 Highland Ave., faces numerous charges, including reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and cruelty to animals, East Syracuse police said.
Moore was arraigned before acting Village Justice John O'Brien and sent to the Onondaga County Justice Center in lieu of $100,000 bail
Moore hasn't told police why he fired several shots at the dog, said East Syracuse police Chief Douglas Robertson.
The dog's owners say the attack was unprovoked.
"What was in his head?" said a distraught Jody Mulkey, the dog's owner. "He could've shot my kids."
The 11/2-year-old female dog, Jade, was treated at a local animal hospital and brought back home briefly Monday afternoon. The dog, which limped slightly and had two red marks on its left front leg, was taken by Mulkey's son-in-law to Stack Veterinary Hospital on Onondaga Hill.
The dog, which weighs about 40 pounds, was in stable condition with one bullet wound through the leg, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Mulkey said her adult daughter, Brandy Hayden, and Hayden's 2-year-old son were among a group of people sitting on the front porch of 421 Highland Ave. about 10:45 a.m. when Moore came outside.
Moore stood at the top step of his front porch and started firing at Jade, who was playing with a stick in the driveway, Hayden said. The driveway, wide enough for one car, is all that separates the two houses.
After one shot hit Jade, the dog tried to run away and Moore kept shooting, Hayden and Mulkey said.
Moore was inside his house when officers from East Syracuse and DeWitt responded to the 10:48 a.m. shots-fired call. Officers, armed with semiautomatic rifles, set up a perimeter and Moore came out with his hands in the air, Robertson said.
A second occupant of the house came out of the house moments later. Both men were handcuffed and taken into custody. The second man, whose identity was not released, was not charged after police determined he had nothing to do with the shooting, Robertson said
Police confiscated a loaded .45-caliber Glock handgun that had been fired five to seven times, Robertson said.
Moore told officers there were other weapons in his attic.
The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office bomb squad was called in after officers felt the electrical contacts and wiring on the attic door looked suspicious.
Bomb technicians conducted a sweep of the residence and determined it was safe, Robertson said. Residents from about eight nearby homes were evacuated, but allowed to go back inside after about 90 minutes.
Police found several other handguns and rifles in the attic. Moore had the necessary permits, Robertson said. .
Two or three small children were in Moore's house when the shooting occurred, Robertson said.
Moore faces five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, one count of cruelty to animals, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree menacing and unlawful discharge of a weapon with the village limits.
Hayden, Mulkey's daughter, said her family has never had trouble with Moore. They don't know him well enough to speak to him, she said.
"The only time we see the guy is when he takes out the trash," Hayden said.
"I think it's a good thing he doesn't know how to shoot," Mulkey said.
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Has to be more to this story.