Deputies with the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man Monday for allegedly shooting and injuring a horse.

Officers charged Steven Hill, 49, of the 200 block of Hampton Drive with felony cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor of violating the local gun ordinance, according to an arrest report.

The horse’s owner said in a social media post the shooting was allegedly the result of a suspect firing a weapon in the direction of her pasture, injuring her horse.

“At 11:15 p.m. I was woken up by gunshots, close gunshots,” Sue Priest wrote in a public Facebook post. “All of us jumped out of bed and met in the hallway waiting to see if there would be more. Amanda made it to the pasture to check horses about 10 min later and to her horror found our beloved Marti was partially paralyzed half sitting up….we knew she had been shot.”

Priest called 911 and her veterinarian for help. They had to euthanize the horse due to the injury, Priest wrote on Facebook.

“She was magnificent in her prime and always carried my babies safely on her back winning them more blue ribbons than our house could hold. She didn’t deserve what happened to her tonight and we are all heartbroken,” she wrote.

A suspect reportedly told the family he hadn’t meant to shoot the horse.

“He has admitted to shooting his gun in our direction, from a neighboring subdivision, between two other houses, and directly into our field….but swears it was accidental,” Priest wrote.

Hill was arrested April 13 and received a $7,500 secured bond, according to the sheriff’s office.