Teen charged with stabbing horse at Las Vegas barrel racing event
Las Vegas police say they have arrested a teenage girl after receiving a report of three horses being stabbed at this weekend’s barrel racing tournament.
Las Vegas police said they arrested a teenage girl on Saturday, May 30, after receiving a report of three horses being stabbed at this weekend’s barrel racing tournament.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Saturday that police received a call shortly after 2 a.m. May 30 about an injured horse in a barn at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center.
“Patrol officers arrived and learned that three horses had been intentionally injured with sharp objects,” a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
Police said the horse’s injuries were not life-threatening, but were likely severe enough to prevent him from competing.
A number of horses were abused by competitors at the 2026 NBHA Professionals’ Choice Vegas Super Show, which runs through Sunday, May 31, according to a statement from the National Barrel Horse Association.
The association said in a news release that the suspect “has been eliminated and is in the custody of authorities and does not pose a continuing threat of any kind.”
Police said the girl “had been in and out of the barn, and investigators believe she may have used a knife to inflict multiple wounds on the horse.”
Police said detectives found the girl at a nearby hotel, the Review-Journal reported. She was charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty and three counts of felony malicious destruction of personal property.
