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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS -- A man walking his dogs Saturday night met an unlucky stranger who pulled out a gun and threatened to kill the man's dogs.
During a fireworks show in a Cottonwood Heights neighborhood, the man's dogs were spooked and jumped toward an elderly man, who then pulled out his hand gun, officers said. "He pulled a silver hand gun from his pocket and threatened to kill the dogs," said Sgt. Dan Bartlett of the Cottonwood Heights Police Department.
It's a little concerning to us that somebody would feel like they needed to pull a gun and point it at a dog.
–Dan Bartlett
The man wasn't in any danger, officers said, but the act of pulling out a gun was taking it a little too far.
"It's a little concerning to us that somebody would feel like they needed to pull a gun and point it at a dog," Bartlett said.
Dog owners in the neighborhood said they were surprised something like that would happen.
"I wouldn't expect it from my neighbors," said Scott Christiansen. "We live in a quiet neighborhood and it's just unusual that this would happen."
But officers say this isn't the first time it's happened in this neighborhood. In a similar case, a man was walking down the street when two dogs came up to a nearby fence. Bartlett said the man yelled to the owner, "You better get your dogs under control or I'll go home and get my gun."
Investigators believe the same man may have made both threats.
"People love their animals and anytime somebody pulls a gun on anybody, that's certainly a concern for police," Bartlett said.
Whether the man has a concealed weapons permit or not, officers said the action was not okay. The man could possibly be charged for making a threat or brandishing a weapon if located.
Email: manderson@ksl.com
