Law enforcement and authorities in Monongalia County, W.V., are investigating the death of a horse that could be linked to high school bullying.

In a written statement, Monongalia County Sheriff Kenneth "Al" Kisner said the horse's owner, Allen Hixenbaugh, found the horse injured in its pasture on May 24. The animal later died. A necropsy later revealed that the 6-year-old Quarter Horse died from a gunshot to the buttocks that pierced its lung.

Hixenbaugh said his 17-year-old daughter had been harassed by a group of students at her school and on the Internet for months prior to the incident. The horse was shot shortly after the girl received Internet messages threatening to kill the animal.

"He had to be targeted because there were nine horses in that pasture and he was the only one shot," Hixenbaugh said