MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Son of beaten Bothell teacher says his father is emotionally shaken

May 19, 2016, 8:29 PM | Updated: May 21, 2016, 8:56 am

Bothell, high school, assault, wood shop...

A Bothell High School wood shop teacher was assaulted while on campus. (KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

The family of the popular Bothell High School teacher who was brutally attacked can’t understand the motive behind the assault.

Cal Pygott’s son, Erik, told The Seattle Times that “it’s hard to even fathom.”

Pygott, a 63-year-old shop teacher at the high school, was attacked after school. He was hit in the head with a sharp object and had a zip tie around his neck.

Erik Pygott told the Times that his father had ear protection on while working on a machine before he was attacked.

Erik told the Times his father is now recovering at home. He’s OK physically but emotionally shaken, according to Erik.

Classes at Bothell High were canceled Friday, but will resume Monday with an increased police presence on campus, according to the Northshore School District.

Bothell police say no arrests have been made. Police won’t say if the attack was random.

A staff member found Pygott bleeding from the head and staggering outside a doorway around 4:20 p.m., over an hour after the last class was dismissed. Pygott was so badly injured that he was going in and out of consciousness before police arrived. Officers were not able to get a clear account of what happened — only that the attack happened on campus.

Police are currently reviewing security camera recordings at the school and interviewing people who were around the campus at the time.

“This school is pretty covered in surveillance cameras,” Gary Horcher with KIRO 7 said. “They are everywhere. I think it’s a pretty good bet that wherever this happened, whatever happened, it was probably caught on not just one, but several different cameras.”

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Son of beaten Bothell teacher says his father is emotionally shaken