Multiple Horses Stabbed During Barrel Racing Event In Las Vegas
On Saturday (May 30), authorities with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were called to the equestrian barns at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa after reports that a horse had been stabbed while animals were being housed there for the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) Supershow.
A press release stated that authorities found three horses that had sustained injuries caused by a “sharp object.” Police said the injuries to the horses were not life-threatening but that they were expected to prevent the horses from partaking in the competition.
Las Vegas Police Department Issue Statement
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department later identified the possible suspect as a “teenage girl.”
“The teen had access to the barn, and investigators believe she may have used a knife to inflict multiple injuries to the horses,” the department states.
Authorities reportedly found the suspect at a nearby hotel and took her into custody without incident. The teenager was transported to Clark County Juvenile Hall.
She is now facing 12 counts of willful or malicious killing, maiming, or torturing an animal, along with three felony counts of malicious destruction of private property valued at more than $5,000.
Read their full statement below.
Click below for more information on a teen arrested for injuring three horses. pic.twitter.com/CUdP8iMbTJ
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) May 31, 2026
Horses Stabbed While Attending Barrel Racing Event In Las Vegas
On Saturday, May 30, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to reports of a horse being stabbed in the equestrian barns at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, where animals were being housed for the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) Supershow.
When officers arrived, they found three horses that had sustained injuries caused by a “sharp object,” according to a police press release. An investigation later identified a teenage girl as a suspect; authorities believe she may have used a knife to inflict multiple wounds on the animals.
Teenage Suspect Taken Into Custody
The unnamed teenage female was taken into custody at a nearby hotel and later booked into the Clark County Juvenile Hall, authorities said.
She is facing 12 counts of willful or malicious killing, maiming, or torturing an animal, along with three felony counts of malicious destruction of private property valued at more than $5,000, according to police.
Police said the injuries to the horses were not life-threatening but that they were expected to prevent the horses from partaking in the competition.
Click below for more information on a teen arrested for injuring three horses. pic.twitter.com/CUdP8iMbTJ
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) May 31, 2026
Owners Provide Updates On The Injured Horses
Arielle Phillips, owner of one of the injured horses, shared her account of the incident in a post to social media. Phillips says cameras captured the individual entering her horse, Detail’s, stall.
On Sunday, Arielle provided an update on Detail, sharing photos showing injuries sustained in the attack. She later posted the horse “hugging” her, saying she was “slowly coming back.”
Hailey Krahenbuhl, the owner of Sully, initially wrote that the horse was “stabbed multiple times.” She later posted a GoFundMe in support of the horses and their owners. You can find out more details and learn how you can help support them below.
The third horse, Rocket, was stabbed three times but is also expected to make a full recovery. Rocket’s owner posted an updated on Sunday (May 31) of the horse walking around his neighborhood.
