A beagle suffered a broken jaw after a mysterious shooter opened fire in his own yard in front of his terrified owner, who was also hit.
The unidentified sniper fired a series of bullets toward Copper and his pet mother, Tiffany Noel, on their Lancaster County property in South Carolina on October 20.
Tiffany had let Copper out around 10 pm as part of her nightly routine, but things took a terrible turn when Tiffany heard Copper howl in agony from the doorbell camera.
As he ran outside to check on him, he jumped back and screamed when a bullet grazed his arm. She then grabbed her beloved beagle and ran back inside to call 911 as more shots were fired.
“All of a sudden I heard a lot of loud noise,” Tiffany recalled. WSOC-TV. ‘So, I ran. I thought, “My dog must be scared to death.” I ran to the door and opened it, and he was like screaming.
Tiffany Noel’s arm was grazed by a bullet when she went out to save Copper.
Copper the beagle was shot in the mouth on October 20 by an unknown gunman
‘You can’t expect this kind of thing. No one can prepare for that,” Tiffany told WSOC-TV.
Tiffany said she was fine after being shot, but the right side of Copper’s jaw was completely shattered.
Shots also hit Tiffany’s car and home, leaving bullet holes.
Tiffany’s friend Kara Kline wrote in a GoFundMe post: ‘Copper lost a lot of blood but was rushed to the emergency vet, where he was sedated.
“They discovered that the bullet had entered his right upper lip; his teeth proximal to his first molar were all knocked out; the bullet pierced his tongue, exited the left side of his neck, and fractured his jaw.”
“When he opens his mouth, you can hear the bones rattling in there,” Tiffany told WSCO-TV.
Tiffany jumped back in pain and fear why she was shot while trying to catch Copper who was losing a lot of blood.
Copper’s teeth were knocked out, his tongue was pierced, and the bullet shattered his jaw.
Tiffany said her dog was ‘scared to death’ when she responded to his howling
Metal pins were placed inside Copper’s mouth to stabilize her jaw and her tongue required stitches, costing Tiffany more than $3,000 to care for.
Now, the vocal and energetic dog must wear a cone and muzzle while he recovers from his excruciating injuries.
According to GoFundMe, copper recovery should take about two months.
For the shocked owner, the consequences of the shooting have not only been “many” from an economic point of view, but she also feels scared and “traumatized” within her own home.
The Lancaster Police Department is still searching for the shooter and investigating the incident.
Copper’s medical expenses have racked up to around $3,000 after she needed stitches and pins placed in her jaw.
They have speculated that this event could be related to gang violence in the neighborhood, WSOC-TV reported.
Before the shooting, Tiffany said she heard people arguing from far away.
Authorities have offered $20,000 for a tip leading to an arrest.
Copper’s shooting came about a month after a Kentucky cat ended up dead after being shot by a disgruntled neighbor for leaving footprints on their vehicles.
Christopher Jones, 54, of Georgetown, fired his gun at Kristin Bradenburg’s cat named Gray Baby on Sept. 22 for being on her property and getting into her cars.
The person who shot Copper has not been identified and police are still investigating the incident.
The heartbroken owner rushed Gray Baby to the vet, but it was too late. There was nothing to do except euthanize him.
Police showed up at Jones’ home to question him about the incident the next day.
He admitted to shooting Gray Baby and claimed the cat was on his property, being a “nuisance,” according to court documents.
