CHICKASHA, Oklahoma -
Animals were let out of their pens, pigs were spray painted
with graffiti, cattle were sprayed with fire extinguishers and investigators believe
the vandalism happened either late Monday night or early Tuesday.
The damage was discovered at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police
say the suspect or suspects spray painted a mix of offensive messages and
random symbols on the walls of the barn, as well as on some of the pigs that
were inside.
"It's
bright red on a white pig and we'll have to keep just washing it every day and
hopefully it will fade away," said FFA instructor Chancer McPherson. "We've got
most of it off. That hard part, it's come off the hair but the hard part is
it's soaked into the skin."
The
animals were all let out of their pens, creating a dangerous situation
where some of them could have been seriously hurt. Two sheep were essentially
poisoned after eating the pig feed because it has high copper contents.
10/16/2013
Related Story: Chickasha High Ag Farm Vandalized, Animals Injured
A
local veterinarian had to come in and give the sheep medicine to counteract the
feed. The animals should all be okay in the end, but months of hard work by FFA
members and the thousands of dollars they invested into the animals could go to
waste.
"As
many hours as these students put into these projects, it's disheartening. We
don't know who it is or who is doing this," explained McPherson.
The
team, however, is already looking forward to getting past the senseless crime.
They have been gearing up for a showing in Kansas City next week.
"We're
still going to attempt to go to Kansas City and go and give it our best shot
and see what happens."
Chickasha Police say the suspect
could face civil proceedings for damages if the person gets caught. A nearby
church was also sprayed with a similar symbol as the ones on several of the
walls of the barn.
Anyone with information on the crime should call the
Chickasha Police Department or the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline
(405)222-TIPS.