A dog bit John McCauley’s son in the face at the child’s birthday party, so on April 12, he shot and killed the dog, according to the Buckeye Police Department.
Police were called to McCauley’s home around 7:10 p.m. because his children said he had threatened to “kill everyone” while he was fighting with their mother about the dog shooting at their house.
According to police records, the fight started when McCauley’s 2-year-old son tried to hug a friend’s dog and got bitten. The child’s mother cleaned up the wound and decided the child did not need medical care.
Police shared video from a security camera that shows what looks like a bulldog on a leash with its owner. The video shows the shooting. After a short fight, McCauley is seen shooting and killing the dog with a pistol.
Then he walks into someone’s backyard and yells at the dog’s owner, telling him that his “dog’s dead.”
The dog’s owner gave cops a spent bullet casing that they thought came from McCauley’s gun and said it was the “cutest thing ever.” Officers looked at the tape and saw that the dog didn’t seem to be mean to McCauley before he was shot.
In the police report, the owner also said that McCauley had anger problems and was mean to the dog before the incident. He also said that McCauley had hit his wife before and that he had been given permission to bring the dog to the party.
Police who were investigating found that McCauley got angry when the dog’s owner left, even though the child’s injuries were taken care of without medical attention.
On the security camera video, a woman outside of a house can be heard yelling “Johnny don’t!” to try to stop McCauley from shooting the dog. Police reports say the woman is the mother of the child who was bitten, but she said she didn’t shoot anyone.
The cops told McCauley his rights during a welfare check at the house. He admitted to shooting the person and at first decided to let police take the gun that was used in the crime.
Police said he later changed his mind, which is why they issued a search order.
Police say they found the gun and signs that someone had probably been drinking before the killing.
Police records show that McCauley was charged with breaking the law by firing a gun inside the city borders, being disorderly, and hurting an animal.