Shooting of trail ride outfit’s mule under investigation

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a mule and several previous suspicious incidents involving a family-owned trail ride business that uses public land in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas. Michael Flood, general manager of Cowboy Trail Rides, found the 11-year-old mule named June dead when he arrived for work Saturday morning. In previous weeks, a 3-year-old horse named Mouse was found dead in a pen and there were two occasions where somebody released horses and mules from pens overnight.  The federal Bureau of Land Management and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are conducting a joint investigation.