Pony attacked for second time in 3 months in Herndon - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

It is a disheartening case of animal cruelty in Fairfax County. The victim is an aging pony. The stabber: a possible copycat.

The pony that was attacked late Saturday or early Sunday morning in its paddock in Herndon is going to be OK. The stab wounds on its back were superficial.

But that same animal was cut in just about the same spot on its back two months ago by a young man who has been locked up for two weeks.

Her name is Lucinda. She is a 13-year-old Haflinger pony. She spends her evenings giving rides to children with special needs at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Va.

Doug Evalenko's eight-year-old son was riding Lucinda Monday night.

"It's a terrible thing," says Evalenko. "Nobody wants to hear about an animal that's being harmed in any way."

Davorka Suvak runs the equestrian program that Lucinda is a part of and she says what happened to Lucinda was like a stab in the heart.

"From my standpoint, it's a group of young people and they messed up with difficult concept of good and evil," Suvak says.

Lucinda and stable mates Spirit and Tessa were all three stabbed in their paddock on April 26.

"At this point, we don't know if it's some sort of copycat scenario or not. We just don't know," says Fairfax County Police spokesperson Lucy Caldwell.

Investigators have charged a 17-year-old Herndon boy in the earlier case. He is locked up in the county's juvenile detention center.

As for the guilty parties in this weekend's stabbing, Suvak has an idea.

"I don't think they should be spared of any consequences," she says. "They have to meet result of their deeds. But besides that, I would like to invite them to come here and see what we do."

A tip to police lead investigators to the teenager charged in the April attacks. He is also accused of slashing two goats, a calf and a chicken at Frying Pan Park in late May.

So far, there are no suspects or a clear motive in this weekend's crime.

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