A shooting at a home in Odessa Sunday morning left five horses injured.

The Riley’s take care of 11 pet horses, along with dogs and other animals, in their home on Carter Avenue in Odessa.

Brandi Riley said Sunday, August 5th, was just like every day for the past three years. They went out in the afternoon to feed their horses.

“I noticed a couple of them had some wounds on them. And once we got to looking, there was five of them that had the same wounds,” Brandi Riley said.

The wounds were quarter- size bullet holes, found in five of their horses.

Ten-year-old Michael Riley’s horse Kalifa, received the worst wound. And when Riley saw his horse, tears began to fill his eyes.

“That, it’s not just a horse, it’s like a friend to me,” Michael Riley said.

Three other horses were shot in the abdomen, and another one in the leg.

“One of them that was injured was a new baby. She’s only about three months old, and she was shot in the back of her leg,” Brandi Riley said.

Kalifa was having trouble breathing, and the family feared the bullet punctured his lung. After an emergency visit to the veterinarian, antibiotics, pain medicine, and four tetanus shots later, their bill totaled several thousand dollars.

“You just do what you have to do. Like, if your kid was hurt, you just load them up and go and worry about it later,” Brandi Riley said.

After the shooting, the Riley’s called the Ector County Sheriff’s Department, who started an investigation.

Ector County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Sergeant Gary Duesler, said these cases have many moving parts.

“And the thing about this is, it’s hard for us to prove who did it. Because, one, it was dark, the time that it occurred and no witnesses whatsoever,” Sergeant Duesler said.

Sergeant Duesler added that they believe a small-caliber weapon was used.

The Riley’s said they believe the shooting was not an accident, because the horses were divided into two separate pens around 150 feet apart.

“They’re here, and they’re just as sweet as they can be. And for someone to just come and shoot them for no reason? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Brandi Riley said.

And out of the situation, Michael Riley said he has a message.

“I hope they know that they broke the heart of a little kid.”

The Riley’s veterinarian said the animals should recover, although the timeframe was not specified.