Shooting throws scare into family

Domesticated turkeys belonging to the Carl Nyquist family can be seen roaming ditches near the family home just west of Tracy. One of the turkeys was shot last Tuesday and left for dead on the side of the road. Photo / Per Peterson

The killing of a domesticated turkey last week outside of Tracy has left owners scared, angry

By Per Peterson

Carl Nyquist’s kids were just going into their house for supper last Tuesday evening after corralling the family’s domesticated turkeys to make sure they weren’t too close to the highway.

Soon after, shots rang out and one of the turkeys was dead.

“Sometimes the turkeys like to hang out by the road, so the kids and (Nyquist’s wife) Sonny went over to make sure they weren’t so close to the road,” Carl said. “Two kids were in and two were gonna be coming into the house, and Sonny heard a couple gun shots and came out. She called the kids into the house and got them squared away; they were inquisitive about what was happening.”

What happened was one of Carl’s daughter, Isabelle’s turkeys had been shot. Isabelle shows bronze turkeys at the Murray County Fair as her Cloverbud 4-H project, so there is a definite closeness that has developed between her and the animals. The Nyquists had 10 turkeys to begin with, lost one, and now have eight after one was shot last Tuesday night.

“Our home is about 100 yards away from where the turkey was laying dead on the shoulder of the road,” Carl said. “ Someone shot it and left it lay there.”

Carl is hurt and upset on many different levels. First and foremost, he’s angry that his kids were in harm’s way.

“It’s scary — it’s less than 100 yards from our house,” he said. “From where the shells were laying on the ground and where the turkey was, it looked like the shooter was shooting directly at the house. It’s frustrating — it’s like, ‘C’mon guys, don’t shoot at my house.’”

See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.