Eleven upstate New York high school lacrosse players who left at least one younger player tied up in the woods in a cruel hazing stunt have been ordered to turn themselves in.
The incident, described by Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick as “hazing on steroids,” happened on April 21 when the older players at Westhill High School in Syracuse tricked their younger teammates with a “prank” that left them scarred.
One of the five victims identified by police said that after last week’s lacrosse game, he had gone to McDonald’s with the upperclassmen for a bite — but was then taken deep into the woods as the driver pretended to be lost, Fitzpatrick told reporters on Tuesday, according to NBC News.
“At some point by prearrangement, people came out of the woods all dressed in black. They were armed with what appeared to be at least one handgun and at least one knife,” Fitzpatrick said.
“The individual had a pillowcase placed over his head, he was tied up and placed in the trunk of a car.”
The older bullies filmed the ordeal as the terrified student believed he may have been left alone there, according to Fitzpatrick.
“There was a period of time where he thought that he was going to be abandoned in the middle of nowhere,” Fitzpatrick added.
He said students who didn’t turn themselves in would be arrested and charged with “a very very serious felony” of kidnapping.
The boy was eventually returned home but was left traumatized, the DA said.
Some of the other younger students “were able to escape,” Fitzpatrick noted.
Fitzpatrick gave the 11 students 48 hours to turn themselves in and face charges of unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor.
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