What a shame. Once again it's not the gun, it's the idiot behind it.

Exactly Steve! And worse yet, had the owner been closer to her dog, she could have been shot too. Tell me, how many coyotes are roaming in the center of Palatine? Idiot for sure!

Actually Peggy probably quite a few more than you realize. They even walking around downtown Chicago. Saw one walking the NorthWestern tracks right outside the NorthWestern Station last Saturday.
Even so, no excuse for someone to be baiting and hunting them in their backyard, Thankfully it appears one of his missed shots never hit a home or someone,

It's too bad this asshole didn't shoot himself in the face!

Losing a pet is the same as losing a family member. My thoughts go out to this innocent dog, Willy, and of course, deepest sympathies to his family.

What a mean spirited jackass. He has severe mental problems.

Idiot !

I'm very much against gun ownership by private citizens and I certainly don't believe a dog deserves to be killed for being off leash but, seriously, you don't TRY to leash a dog, you leash a dog BEFORE you open your door.

1. Did he take the deer legally? i.e. in season
2. German Shepherds are roughly twice the size of coyotes.
I suspect this dolt was ready to shoot ANYTHING that came near his yard.

He shot it because he thought it was a coyote. You don't often see dogs roaming the neighborhood at 2 AM. Don't you think. It was just bed luck, and I am sorry for him and I am sorry for the dog.

bad luck I meant

No, it wasn't bad luck. It was bad judgement. It's not legal to shoot animals--AT ALL--in most towns. You can't shoot a squirrel, never mind a coyote. This guy is a fool, and a mean one at that.

I agree it was bad judgement, but he was waiting for a coyote to shoot and the dog showed up at 2 AM, NOT 2PM in the AFTERNOON, and that kind of dog looks like a coyote. I know what he did was wrong, but he is a hunter and he took a shot believing that he is shooting a coyote not a dog. What about the hundred dogs and cats being eaten by coyotes. I live in Schaumburg and my neighbors dog was eaten by coyotes in his backyard.

So? I live in Deerfield and we have a pack of coyotes living 3 blocks from my house, down by the river. If I had a little dog, I would never let it out by itself at night here. But it would piss me off if someone shot our coyotes, who control the rabbit population very effectively. It's illegal to shoot wildlife in most municipalities because guns are inherently dangerous. You just can't have Joe Resident blasting away with a gun in the middle of some suburb. Someone (or their pet) might get hurt (or, case-in-point, killed). This man was acting illegally. Just because he expected a coyote (which he could not legally shoot anyway) doesn't excuse him from killing another person's pet, no matter what time it was. He's a danger to himself and others. I hope they lock that moron up and throw away the key.

No one has the right to simply shoot at will in a populated community. what if this were a person ? To suggest that simply because he was a "Hunter" he had the right to shoot anything moving is absolutly wrong. I don't care what time it was, I don't care the reasons why he had no right o kill anything.

1. I live in the neighborhood.
2. We have a huge coyote problem. ( one of my dogs got carried away by one a few months ago)
3. Talking to some other neighbors the mans little dog was attacked by one a few weeks ago. ( could he have been trying to protect his family.
4. The wildlife people tried to control the deer population with coyotes. ( now there are more coyotes with a lot less to eat. So they come into our neighborhoods looking for easy prey.)
5. I feel for the woman who lost her dog. ( But she didn't have it leashed.)
6. The neighborhood is not well lit and some of us have fairly large properties. ( I don't care if it was a dog , coyote any orher animal or a person. They were on his property and he has the right to defend his family)

No, in point of fact, he does NOT have the right to defend his property with a gun. I'm going to repeat that. You really don't have the right to defend your property with a gun unless someone or something is actively, provably threatening your safety, and even that can be illegal depending on the circumstances. (Which would be why he was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a firearm.) The natural world is an unforgiving place. Eat or be eaten; eat or starve. Coyotes don't understand that their lunch was your pet. That's not their fault. They were not brought in to control the deer population; they actually don't prey on adult deer, for the most part. They like easier game--rabbits, ducks, small rodents, etc. They have migrated into populated areas because they are highly adaptive creatures who survive pretty much anywhere there is a food source, and humans have to figure out how to get along with predators in their midst. So here are a couple of tips. If you have coyotes in your area, accompany smaller pets outside, keep them close to the house, and make a lot of noise while you are out there. Sing, talk, play a radio, bang on a pot. Don't leave food outside and turn on outdoor lights at night. Ammonia-soaked rags will usually deter them. Carry a baseball bat if you must. For everyone's safety, please ditch the gun!

I am horrified that having a deer carcass in one's back yard is legal in Palatine. The disgusting smell and mess in addition to luring predators such as rats, raccoons and other undesirable animals. Live chickens are not permitted in Palatine due to fears they might attract predators, yet this idiot was deliberately attracting predators and was not charged with this. He is shooting without even knowing what he is aiming at! I am horrified that this predator Piotr lives within a mile of my house.

I've thought about shooting irritating racoons in my backyard, but I know better then to shoot a gun outdoors within village limits.

I am willing to bet the guy is a foreigner, ignorant and uneducated. A real idiot for not taking into account the safety of others and dogs that would be attracted to the deer.

To defenders of the shooter, What if the women with the dog worked a night shift, got off work at 1 O'clock, and came home to walk her dog after work.Then she went to put a leash on the dog the same way that she's been doing for the past 7 years and the dog, being a dog, heard something and took off?

It is completely NOT safe for a man to lure coyotes into his yard using a dead deer and then fire at them in the middle of a developed neighborhood. If you're wondering why you continue to have a coyote problem, how about the fact there's a man in your neighborhood baiting them there, not the mention staying up over night waiting for something to show up in his yard so he can shoot it (which is slightly creepy to begin with). That type of behavior belongs in rural areas where neighbors are separated by acres, not feet. I feel terrible for the family that lost their dog in this way. And if you have a small dog, don't let it out of your sight if you know there are coyotes in the area, regardless of the time of day.

Ted Nugent, whose an avid hunter, would probably diss this guy. And, he's originally from Palatine.

We have to note that one of the charges was "obstructing a peace officer". This guy obviously has little regard for the law. Or take responsibility for his actions. Basically a dangerous coward. He should forfeit his guns. This is a perfect case of a mentally unbalanced person who is armed. Please note his shirt in the mugshot. Camoflage. For anyone here defending this particular idiots right to guns please feel free to post again when he shoots a child thinking zombies were trespassing on his property.

He baits coyotes with a deer carcass at an address that is decidedly suburban and well populated. I think that qualifies as a little more than not too bright.

Well, you never know when zombies might be on your property. Best to be on the alert! ha ha. That's too funny! He's definitely not very bright.

What is really terrifying is how many gun grabbing idiots commented on this mishap. All looking to jump on the gun control band wagon. Yet no one mentioned that right or wrong, the guy may have been thinking he is also helping his neighbors by killing the Coyotes. Of course no one will think of that until some dumb twit gets attacked by one. If you read the whole article, it said that the guys wife woke him up. He was not sitting in the window just waiting for anything to shoot, like a few of the Salem Witch Hunters here suggested. And, Mr. Mahoney, I take it you are Native American? Or just forgot that you are also an ignorant, uneducated foreigner.