Students Give Inside View Of Grosse Ile Guinea Pig Killing: 'We Asked Them What The Hell Is Wrong With You?'

By Christy Strawser
GROSSE ILE (CBS Detroit) According to a bevy of students who called the Rat & Puff morning show Thursday on 98.7 AMP Radio, shock is the feeling at Grosse Ile High School since members of the lacrosse team were accused of killing a guinea pig, drinking its blood and painting themselves in blood as part of a pre-game ritual.

"Teachers say if you talk about it, you will be going to the office and talking to the principal," Hannah, who identified herself as a Grosse Ile High School student, told the show.

"So, you're not allowed to discuss it in class at all?" host Jeff Daly asked.

"Yeah," Hannah said, adding that kids are talking about it in the lunchroom and on Twitter.

Hannah said she knows the students involved are "good kids and stuff," adding "I just can't believe they would do this."

Another self-identified Grosse Ile high schooler, named Breanna, said students learned about it a week or so ago and "most of us were horrified that they would do this."

Breanna said the story came to light after a teacher heard some of the students involved talking about it. The high school and the police department are not talking about it, citing an ongoing investigation.

"It's just a horrible thing and that is something that our high school has never done before. We are great kids. Our students are like the top best and I don't know what came about them to do this," Breanna said.

She added that she knew the kids involved and said they've been punished at home. One lost his car privileges, she said. "Of course we asked them 'what the hell is wrong with you?'" Breanna said.

"As for right now, we don't exactly know who killed it, and who stabbed it and who did what and we can't really put the blame on them ... I knew the group of boys that did it and I can say I honestly didn't expect it from them. They are good kids and it was just crazy. It honestly came out of the blue ... It is all that is talked about at school," she said.

The student added that other schools are calling out Grosse Ile over it at sporting events and practices.

"We're known as the guinea pig school now," she said.

Another caller, the parent of a parochial school student, argued that it's not a big deal and said the media is blowing the incident out of proportion.

"Guinea pigs are like the Bic lighter of the rodent population, you can buy them for a couple of bucks and these kids did something that was going to amp them up and they had a little bit of fun with it," he said. "It was a little bit of humor, but I don't think it's that big of a deal."

He added "It's not  like they killed a dog and painted 666 on the side of a building ... It's not like they stole cars."

Student Brian called in to add he wanted to make it clear the entire team was not involved and it "sucks that the whole school is going down for it."

"Every headline out there says 'lacrosse team kills guinea pig,' but it's not what the team did ... according to the Grosse Ile police it didn't even happen on campus," Brian said.

Grosse Ile Police Chief Joseph Porcarelli did speak to the Detroit News, saying, "There's 18 (students) on the team and we do know so far that not all of them were involved. But more than half were at the location when it occurred."

He added that adults and teens were allegedly at the location when the guinea pig was killed for sport.