Gwinnett Daily Post

SUWANEE -- A reward has been announced by residents of a neighborhood where eight swans were found shot to death earlier this month.

Residents of Rosemoore Lake subdivision in unincorporated Suwanee will pay $2,500 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person they believe is responsible for multiple attacks. Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department said the swans were killed by a BB gun.

"This is a difficult case to solve, period," Smith said. "We have not found any witnesses to the crime nor evidence that points to a particular suspect."

The swans, two adults and six offspring, were noticed missing on June 8, and found dead on June 9 after residents called Gwinnett animal control and police officers.

This is the third time in six years that Rosemoore swans have been shot.

The neighborhood residents pitched in to buy a male and a female swan eight years ago. But two years later, the male was shot, and the neighborhood replaced it, resident Gary Webb said.

Seven months after that, two cignets were shot near the location the eight were shot last week, Webb said. The most recent adult swans, Rosie and Bobby, had six babies two months ago, and were the heart of the community, Webb said.

"We are looking at other sources to try and increase the amount of the reward so we can stop the person that has now killed 11 of our pet swans," Webb said.

Smith said the latest incident is similar to the previous attacks, and may be related.

"We don't have much actual evidence in these cases," he said. "But some of the swans killed in previous incidents were also killed with a BB gun."