Metro detectives are seeking the horse’s owner and the driver of a white single-cab truck.
LAS VEGAS, NV — Las Vegas police opened an animal cruelty investigation after a video posted online appeared to show a pickup truck pulling a horse later found dead in an east valley neighborhood.
The case drew public attention after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said its Animal Cruelty Section found the video on June 27. Police said the video showed a white single-cab pickup truck pulling a dark-colored horse with white markings. Neighbors later reported that the animal was found dead in front of a home in the 1300 block of Ringe Lane, near Nellis Boulevard and Washington Avenue.
The department said detectives are trying to identify the horse’s owner and the driver or drivers of the truck. No arrest had been announced as of Thursday, July 2. Police have not released the name of a suspect, the license plate number of the truck or a confirmed cause of death for the horse. The agency described the case as a suspected animal cruelty incident and said the investigation remains active.
The video spread across social media before police announced the investigation. In the recording, the horse appears tied to or pulled by the truck as the vehicle moves through a residential area. Metro said in its statement that the video “appears to show a white single-cab pickup truck pulling a dark-colored horse with white markings.” A neighbor who saw the aftermath told a local television station, “It was horrible,” as residents questioned how the animal ended up dead along the street.
Ringe Lane sits in the Sunrise Manor area of the east Las Vegas Valley, where homes, open lots and semi-rural properties sit near busy roads such as Nellis Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Horses are not unusual in parts of the valley where larger lots and older neighborhood layouts remain. That setting has made the search for the truck and the horse’s owner a key part of the case because the animal may have come from a nearby property or from another part of the valley.
Police have released still images from the video showing the horse and the white pickup truck. The truck was described only as a white, single-cab model. Detectives have not said whether the video captured a license plate or whether the driver knew the horse was in distress. Officials also have not said how long the horse was pulled, where the video began, or whether the animal was alive when the truck first entered the area where witnesses saw it.
Under Nevada law, animal cruelty can include overdriving, overloading, torturing, cruelly beating, unjustifiably injuring, maiming, mutilating or killing an animal. The law also bars causing or allowing an animal to be subjected to those acts. The exact charge in any case depends on the evidence, the animal involved, the suspect’s conduct and any prior convictions. In this case, Metro has not announced recommended charges or said whether prosecutors have received a case file.
The investigation is being handled by Metro’s Animal Cruelty Section, a specialized unit that reviews reports involving injured, neglected or abused animals. Detectives are expected to review the social media video, witness accounts, nearby cameras and any other footage that may show the pickup truck before or after the horse was found. Police also are trying to determine who owned or controlled the horse before it was seen behind the vehicle.
Residents near Ringe Lane were left with questions after the horse was found dead in front of a home. The images released by police show a dark horse with white markings and a truck moving along a street in daylight. The case has prompted strong reactions online and in the neighborhood because the animal’s final moments appear to have happened in public, near homes and traffic, before police were able to identify who was responsible.
Metro said investigators are seeking information from people who may know the truck, the driver or the horse’s owner. The department listed its Animal Cruelty Section and Crime Stoppers as places where tips may be submitted. As of Thursday, the next public milestone in the case is whether detectives identify a suspect or announce an arrest.
Author note: Last updated July 2, 2026.