Law enforcement authorities in Amador County, Calif., shot and killed a man who threatened county Sheriff’s Deputies with a knife after attacking a horse belonging to his neighbor.

Amador Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Wegner said that on Sept. 24, Sheriff’s Department personnel responded to a call from a woman who said her neighbor, Gaylord Neil Story, had entered onto her Pine Grove property and subsequently broken into her home. The woman reported that Story was covered in blood. The caller later fled the residence to the area of her property where her horse stalls were located. Wegner said the woman reported seeing Story search for her in the area where her horses resided.

Upon arriving at the scene, Sheriff’s Deputies discovered Story standing near the caller’s home, rummaging though her vehicle, Wegner said. Officers ordered Story to show his hands. He did not comply and subsequently fled into a wooded area nearby. When Sheriff’s Deputies discovered Story, he raised a large butcher’s knife and advanced on the officers. Deputies fired on the man in self-defense. Emergency medical personnel already on the scene immediately administered medical assistance. Medical personnel determined that Story was dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed that in addition to the gunshot wounds, Story had sustained several self-inflicted stab wounds, one of which would have been fatal.

Law enforcement personnel searched the area where the caller’s animals were located discovered that a 14-year-old Quarter Horse gelding had been stabbed. A veterinarian was called to the scene to treat the horse. The animal is expected to make a complete recovery, Wegner said