St. Charles man points crossbow at dog to protect his chickens in neighbor dispute

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A dispute between neighbors over a loose dog in St. Charles saw a man point a crossbow at the dog to protect his chickens, while the dog’s owner became uncooperative with police, according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called about 11 a.m. July 21 to the 6N600 block of Route 25, St. Charles Township.

Deputies met a man with a green Bruin Camouflage crossbow, which was set on the hood of his minivan. They advised him of the dangers associated with the weapon, police said.

The man told deputies he shares the property with a woman who also rents. The man told police the woman has a dog that had been reported for biting someone and the dog had run onto his portion of the property and was unleashed, according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office report.

The man said he has chickens and a worm farm on his part of the property, according to the report.

The man “advised that he was afraid that he was going to get bitten or that the dog would kill one of his chickens,” according to the report. The man “advised that in order to defend himself and his property, he aimed the crossbow at the dog.”

The dog’s owner was “very verbally defiant and would not communicate with deputies very well,” according to the report.

Deputies told the woman about a county ordinance requiring her dog not to run at large and told her she needed to keep her dog on her side of the property, according to the report.

“She advised me that she was trying to, but didn’t want to because it was inconvenient,” according to the deputy’s report. The woman then “became enraged and stormed back into her residence without allowing deputies to resolve the situation,” according to the report.

With the complainant no longer cooperative and the woman not in violation of any laws, deputies left, according to the report.

Before they left, deputies took the man’s crossbow, according to the report.