Photo: Southern University Human Jukebox
New details have emerged about the circumstances surrounding the death of Caleb Wilson, a Southern University student who collapsed while participating in an off-campus fraternity ritual.
Wilson, 20, collapsed last week while members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity were carrying out a ritual where pledges stand in line, according to reports. Following the incident, a group of friends had reportedly brought an unresponsive Wilson from a local park to Baton Rouge General Hospital. Wilson was later pronounced dead.
Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told WAFB that the initial story given to police was fabricated. According to the sources, Wilson didn't collapse at the park. Omega Psi Phi pledges actually participated in the ritual inside a Baton Rouge warehouse, where each prospective member stood in a line and was forced to take punches to the chest as part of the initiation process, per the report.
After being hit, Wilson reportedly collapsed to the ground and began having a seizure. WAFB sources said fraternity members met at an undisclosed location to fabricate the narrative that Wilson collapsed at the park.
The Baton Rouge Police Department has launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities are still awaiting autopsy results for Wilson's official cause of death.
In the wake of Wilson's death, Southern University released a statement mourning the student and condemning hazing. The university said it launched its own internal investigation while cooperating with the police department and district attorney's office.
“Hazing is a violation of the University’s rules and regulations as well as Louisiana law, and it will not be tolerated in any form at Southern University,” the statement read. “We support punishment to the fullest extent of the law for anyone committing an act of violence that impedes a student from safely and successfully matriculating at Southern.”
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