Police believe a 20-year-old fraternity pledge at a Louisiana college who died after attending an off-campus event was repeatedly punched with boxing gloves during a hazing ritual. The New York Times reports Caleb Wilson, a student at Southern University and pledge at Omega Psi Phi, is believed to have been punched with boxing gloves at a warehouse before being left unresponsive at an emergency room. Witnesses identified Caleb McCray, a 23-year-old member of the fraternity, as the person who punched Wilson; he turned himself into police on Thursday. He faces charges of manslaughter and felony criminal hazing. Authorities say other suspects could also be charged.
Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said at a news conference Friday that authorities first learned of Wilson's death around 2:40am on Feb. 26 after a group of males dropped Wilson off at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, claiming he had collapsed while playing basketball. But detectives learned Wilson actually died "as a direct result of a hazing incident" in which Wilson and several other pledges were reportedly lined up and hit four times in the chest with boxing gloves. The blows allegedly caused Wilson to collapse and suffer a seizure. And although police didn't say how many people were at the event, Morse did say "at no time did anyone call 911 or attempt to call 911 or try to summon an ambulance to the warehouse to give him medical aid."
NBC News reports Southern University, a historically Black institution, has launched an internal investigation after learning the event was unsanctioned. Omega Psi Phi has been ordered to stop all activities, and each Greek organization on the campus was informed that there will be no new membership intake for the rest of the school year. Dennis Shields, president of the Southern University System, said, "Words cannot express how deeply saddened we are by the loss of our student Caleb Wilson. Our collective thoughts and prayers continue to be with Caleb's family, friends, classmates, and all who knew and loved him." Wilson, who was from New Orleans, was reportedly a "dedicated" member of the university's "Human Jukebox" marching band and was studying mechanical engineering.
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