Authorities are hoping the public can help identify whoever is responsible for shooting a horse that had escaped rising floodwaters in Texas.

Captain Ken DeFoor, spokesman for the Liberty County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department, said deputies responded to multiple calls reporting that a man was shooting at a horse standing on high ground after escaping recent flooding.

“Several witnesses reported that a man had used a .22 caliber rifle to shoot the horse several times,” DeFoor said.

High flood waters prevented sheriff’s department personnel from immediately reaching the animal, but when waters receded, a deputy found one live horse that had been shot in the head two or three times, DeFoor said