Nathaniel Rodriguez
The Troy University Police Department is conducting an investigation to identify the high school students involved in assaults that occurred at the Delta Chi house on April 2.
The suspects are believed to a part of a crowd who came to the house between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m., according to Detective James Taylor.
“The number that we got from some of the victims, they believe, (is) approximately 50 high school students,” Taylor said.
Reed Kelly, a junior risk management major from Chelsea and Delta Chi brother who was at the scene, said an altercation began when the high school students arrived and asked to play basketball at the fraternity’s back patio. When the brothers outside said no, the situation escalated into violence.
“The main thing is, I was trying to not start anything, and they were looking for a fight,” Kelly said. “We told them to leave calmly, and they just decided to rile it up.”
Taylor said phone calls came into the dispatch around 15 minutes after the fight began, and first responders arrived at the house three minutes later.
While first responders were there around 2:45 a.m., one brother gave his testimony to two police officers while the others recovered from the attack.
Several brothers suffered minor facial and bodily injuries. Some sported bruises on their faces, and others had their shirts ripped or covered in blood. One stumbled around while trying to cover what appeared to be a nosebleed.
A few brothers, Taylor said, also had to be taken to Troy Regional Medical Center for some cuts, but no one had to stay overnight for severe injuries.
On Friday, April 7, when the Tropolitan interviewed Taylor, the investigation was still in its early stages. Taylor is using yearbooks from Pike County high schools to help identify those who was there that night.
“At this time, we’re really trying to get IDs on the students’ names so we can work with the principals of each school to get them interviewed and brought in,” Taylor said.
He also said that the assaults were isolated incidents, and Troy students should not be worried about any high school assailants.
As for Delta Chi, the fraternity has declined to comment as an organization and is handling this internally.
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