The Bowie County Sheriff’s Office said that on October 3, officers were told that several dogs had gone missing from homes in the Simms, Texas area. One of the dog owners said that a possible suspect lived close, which led to an investigation.
Police went to the home of Stuart Duncan Hammonds, 24, and his girlfriend. When police got to the house, they could smell the smell of dead animals right away. When they looked more closely, they saw seven animal bodies lying around the house and barn.
Also, police found the bones of 12 dogs. Some of these bodies had clear signs of head injuries, which suggests they had been shot.
After more research, it was found that Hammonds reportedly killed four dogs when he lost it during a heated fight with his girlfriend.
The Suspect Reportedly Gathered Some of the Dogs He Allegedly Killed on Social Media
It looks like none of the claimed dog victims were the suspect’s own pets. It’s likely that Hammonds saw the dogs roaming free in the Simms area. He may have also adopted some of them after seeing posts about them on social media.
The sheriff’s office says that a witness has proven that Hammonds killed all 12 dogs. He was caught and charged with 12 counts of cruelty to animals that are not cattle. His bond was set at $100,000.
When word got out that the dogs had been killed, though, many people on the internet thought the punishment should be much worse. For some, the fact that they were said to be able to do such horrible things was a sign of even worse things to come.
“This person is going to be a serial killer soon!” People who love dogs wrote on X, “Do not let him out!” “I believe everyone knows how this story ends…”Lock him up and throw away the key,” agreed someone else on X. “Bro needs to stay in prison, that makes me think of a serial killer,” said a third person.
“Death Penalty,” said another X resident after hearing the news.
At the same time, other pet owners said they would react with vigilante justice if something like this happened.
One person said, “If someone hurts my dog, they better pray the police get there first.”
