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 or face felony kidnapping charges.
The incident, described by Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick as “hazing on steroids,” happened on April 24 when the older players at Westhill High School in Syracuse tricked their younger teammates with a “prank” that left them scarred.
One of at least 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 at a press conference on Tuesday.
“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.
“You can hear some of the individuals found it amusing,” he said.
The boy was eventually returned home but was left traumatized, the DA said. Some other younger students were also targeted and taken to the location “were able to escape,” Fitzpatrick noted.
“I understand the attitude of ‘boys will be boys’ and ‘it’s a rite of passage’ … I’ve seen the videotape of what happened to this young man. It is not a rite of passage, it is not a trivial matter,” he added.
“I don’t know how long this man will be affected by what happened to him. Frankly, I find it incomprehensible that in this day and age someone thought they would have gotten away with something like this.”
Fitzpatrick gave the students 48 hours to turn themselves in and face charges of unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor.
They will be released back into their parents’ custody and the case will most likely be handled in family court, avoiding a criminal record.
But if they refuse to turn themselves in voluntarily, they will be tracked down, arrested and prosecuted as adults and charged with kidnapping, a serious felony, he said.
The Onondaga Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
“Westhills Central Schools District Superintendent Steve Dunham declined to comment when The Post contacted his office Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation.”
