GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 20-year-old has been charged with multiple misdemeanors for allegedly shooting a goose in Gallatin last Monday.
The shooting happened at Lock 4 Park along Old Hickory Lake on Monday, Jan. 20. A witness reportedly observed four people exiting a Chevy Tahoe before the shooting occurred.
“They were dressed in camo and soon thereafter, the witness said that they heard a shot and these four individuals came back to the Tahoe with a goose in their hands,” explained Barry Cross, spokesperson for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
The witness allegedly told Gallatin police that one of the suspects was carrying a shotgun and provided officers with a photo of the group and their vehicle. A single 20-gauge shotgun shell was also found at the scene.
Ultimately, it was social media that helped the collaborating agencies— the TWRA, Gallatin Police Department and Sumner County Sheriff’s Office– to locate their targets.
“It was Gallatin PD that shared the image on their [Facebook] page, and through that we were able to get an anonymous tip,” explained Cross.
Monday’s incident marked the second time in less than a month that an illegal shooting of wildlife occurred in a suburban area of Sumner County.
Just before Christmas, a man was arrested for shooting multiple deer from their vehicle in a Hendersonville neighborhood, also along Old Hickory Lake.
The TWRA made it clear that these type of incidents are not common for their officers.
“I don’t think our officers are seeing anything vastly different than they see from year to year,” said Cross. “Any animal in Tennesse is prone to being abused, and we don’t see a ton of it.”
Typically, Cross said their officers respond to wildlife in distress; a duck caught in fishing line, for example. But this latest case serves as a good reminder for why the TWRA exists, and Cross isn’t concerned over these incidents becoming a trend.
“The majority of the hunters in the state of Tennessee are doing it the right way, they want to do it the right way, because they want those animals to be there year after year,” said Cross. “And from time to time, we do get those individuals that make a bad decision, and oftentimes were able to catch them.”
Of the four suspects involved in this case, two were minors. The oldest suspect, a 20-year-old, was charged by the TWRA with three misdemeanor violations, including “illegal take of wildlife.”
The agency said they also confiscated the shotgun that was allegedly used. None of the suspects have been identified at this time.
