Police in Washington State have determined that a neighbor who fatally shot the actresses dog Mozart did so on his own property.
Salma Hayek's beloved dog was shot dead, but it appears to have been an accident.
Police in Washington State say they have determined that a neighbor shot the 9-year-old pooch, named Mozart, after the dog left the actress's property.
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What's more, police believe the neighbor had no way to know the pellet gun he used to scare away Mozart would lead to the dog's slow death.
Lt. Cliff Ziesemer from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office called the death a "fluke"
Ziesemer said a veterinarian determined the pellet nicked an artery, after which Mozart “slowly bled to death internally."
According to a Feb. 19 police report, the trouble began after a caretaker took two dogs out for a run on the property 70 miles south of Seattle.
The dogs took off, according to the complaint. When the caretaker realized Mozart was missing, she returned to the trail and found him dead.
Following widespread reports of the dog's death, one of Hayek's neighbors came forward to tell police he believed he was to blame.
Identified as Mr. Lund in a Thurston County Sheriff's Office release, the property owner reportedly admitted to shooting at one of the dogs with his pellet gun.
Mr. Lund was not aware that the dog had actually been struck because the dog kept running after he fired the one shot, according to police.
Lund said his garage door was open and he was inside the residence when he heard what sounded like a dog fight in his garage, according to cops.
He opened the the door and observed the two dogs fighting.
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According to police, Lund grabbed his air rifle from his living room and fired.
Neighbor Kim Lund opened up to the Associated Press this week about the shock she and her family are feeling over the situation.
"We didn’t even know we hit the dog,” said Kim Lund, who told the AP that Hayek's dog was on top of her dog when her husband shot the gun to scare it away. "I’m still coming to terms with all of this, as you can imagine...We didn’t even know we killed a dog."
Lund said her heart is broken. "I’m really sorry that the dog died," she said."
On Friday, Hayek posted a photo of Mozart on Instagram along with a message about his death in which she encouraged area authorities to "do justice to this wonderful dog."
However, because the dogs were on Lund's property, it was unlikely that any charges would be brought against him, according to reports.
The sheriff’s office reportedly ruled the shooting justified but referred the case to prosecutors for review.
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