A 17-year-old University High School student was arrested Tuesday after he bit off the head of a chicken on campus over the weekend, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

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A school resource officer arrested David Andrew Jimenez on charges of animal cruelty and trespassing on school property after he heard about a student bragging about biting off the chicken's head, sheriff's office spokesman Andrew Gant said.

Investigators said Jimenez traveled to the Orange City campus around 11 p.m. Saturday night and entered a chicken coop that was at the school for a "farm to table" event held earlier that day.

"Upon arriving on campus on Monday, a teacher discovered the headless body of a chicken in the parking lot," Gant said. "The chicken’s head was later discovered inside the chicken coop, and eggs had been thrown in the gym and against the gym doors."

Jimenez was turned over to his mother Tuesday and will face a judge Wednesday, Gant said.

Deputies said any other students who were involved in the incident could also face charges.

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Healthcare at College Park, a nursing home in Fulton County, GA, stands shuttered with its door chained on July 26, 2025, having closed in recent months.  Researchers at Brown University developed a list of U.S. nursing homes they predicted were at risk of closing based on 2023 data, and would be at elevated risk of closing due to the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act's cuts to Medicaid. Healthcare at College Park was on their list.  It survived past its last federal inspection in August of 2024 but has now closed down. The bill's biggest provisions will roll out over years starting Jan. 1. (Ariel Hart/AJC)

Credit: Ariel Hart