A group of students accused of being involved in an apparent hazing scheme in upstate New York have turned themselves in after they were given 48 hours to do so or else face kidnapping charges for the incident, which authorities say targeted younger members of the Westhill High School boys lacrosse team.
Eleven students who allegedly played a part in the event turned themselves in on Wednesday, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said. The district attorney previously told CBS News that the deadline for the perpetrators to turn themselves in was “close of business Thursday.”
“This is criminal activity, and this is hazing on steroids,” Fitzpatrick said Tuesday during a news conference, noting it “could have resulted in such tragedy.”
An attorney representing the 11 students said in a statement to CBS News late Wednesday night that the “young men deeply regret their involvement in what began as a misguided attempt at a prank. They recognize that their actions were inappropriate, and do not minimize the fear and distress experienced by the other students.”
Fitzpatrick said his office and the county sheriff’s department are working together to prosecute the case, after the sheriff received a call from the high school’s resource officer reporting that a newer member of the boys lacrosse team had been tied up and thrown into the back of a teammate’s vehicle. The incident seemed to be an example of hazing or, if not, some sort of extreme prank, Fitzpatrick said.
Older lacrosse players allegedly set up their plot by arranging an evening out with five younger members of the Westhill team, Fitzpatrick said, which was supposed to include watching a lacrosse game and picking up food from McDonald’s. An older player was driving the younger ones and pretended to get lost in an isolated section of the county, where a group of accomplices emerged in masks and black clothing, imitating an abduction with at least one gun and one knife, according to the district attorney.
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Author: Dillon B
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