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Baby Goats Pelted With Eggs In Ag School Break-In, Mother Goat Tied Up

By Howard Ludwig | June 27, 2016 7:49am | Updated on June 27, 2016 9:13am
 Baby goats were pelted with eggs during a break-in at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, according to Principal William Hook.
Baby goats were pelted with eggs during a break-in at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, according to Principal William Hook.
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DNAinfo/Howard Ludwig

MOUNT GREENWOOD — Baby goats were pelted with eggs as part of a break-in at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, according to Principal William Hook.

The mother goat was found tied to a fence inside her pen as officials responded to an alarm Thursday evening at the school at 3857 W. 111th St., Hook said.

The other goats were nearby in their outdoor pen and surrounded by evidence of the egging, said Hook, who added that none of the animals were harmed and there are no pictures or video of the incident.

He said a police report was filed on the break-in Friday afternoon. A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said the vandalism occurred between 10:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. Thursday. No one is in custody for the incident, police said.

 Baby goats were pelted with eggs during a break-in at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, according to Principal William Hook.
Baby goats were pelted with eggs during a break-in at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, according to Principal William Hook.
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DNAinfo/Howard Ludwig

The vandalism actually began Wednesday night as cartons of eggs were found near the school's outdoor chicken coop along with beer cans. It is believed the chickens were pelted with eggs then, Hook said.

The vandals seemingly returned Thursday, this time throwing eggs at the chickens as well as the goats in the adjacent pen and several school buildings. Hook believes the alarm was set off when one of the vandals pulled hard on the door to the school's animal science wing, commonly known as the barn.

From there, the break-in occurred, Hook said. He believes the vandals grabbed the rope from inside the barn to tie up the mother goat or to use as a leash for the animal. He'd like to think that tying up the mother goat was an attempted prank — like stealing the school's mascot.

That said, he believes throwing eggs at the baby goats had a more sinister vibe. Still, there was no damage to property inside the barn or theft as a result of the break-in, Hook said.

He said the plan is still to keep the animals outside overnight, despite the recent incidents. He said the goats — along with other animals such as chickens and cows — prefer to be outside, particularly in the summer.

"We haven't had any problems in 5-6 years," he said Monday morning.

Hook said it's not uncommon to find beer cans and other such debris around the school's athletic fields as well as near the edge of the campus where the school maintains a small golf course.

He described such evidence of drinking as "teenagers being teenagers." That said, the break-in is being considered a serious issue, and the doors were being reinforced on Monday, Hook said.

"The only other time we had incidents of vandalism was when we were building the golf course," Hook said.

Back then, hoses were cut and sod was strewn about the course. An article was written about the problems, and the vandalism stopped.

Hook credited vigilant neighbors for bringing about the end of those incidents and hoped for a similar outcome in the wake of the break-in.

While the school owns the adult goats, the baby goats are actually property of a student. Lucio Barrera, a senior from the Ashburn neighborhood, received a grant from the FFA also known as the Future Farmers of America to breed the goats. He was very upset upon learning of the egging on Friday morning, Hook said.

"He wanted to spend the night [with the goats] on the day after," he said.

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