Follow-up: Police Investigate Ohio State Fraternity Fire as Possible Hazing, Records Show Second- and Third-Degree Burns
A video circulating widely on social media has left a fraternity at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, suspended and under police investigation. According to police records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch on November 10, the Columbus Division of Police is investigating the incident, in which two people were injured after catching fire, as potential hazing. Ohio State University has placed its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter on interim suspension pending a full investigation.
The video begins with a man in gray sweatpants and a hoodie already on fire while another person tries to use a fire extinguisher on him. The burning man gets up and lunges at another man in a similar outfit, whose clothing also catches fire. Onlookers cheer and shout at first, then move in to beat at the flames with clothing and tell the two to drop to the ground and roll. Both victims eventually rip off their burning clothes. A second video shot from another angle is also circulating online. The incident is believed to have happened on Saturday, November 7, in the 1900 block of Indianola Avenue, an off-campus neighborhood dotted with fraternity houses, on a day when Ohio State's football team hosted Oregon.
Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson told The Dispatch the university considers the incident "extremely concerning" and that the individuals are receiving needed medical care; the university referred the matter to the Columbus Division of Police and Ohio State University Police. A Columbus fire spokesperson told local media the two were rushed to a hospital in a private vehicle and were in stable condition. The police report obtained by The Dispatch says the two suffered second- and third-degree burns, lists their injuries as moderate and treated, and redacts their personal information.
Police records show that on the evening of November 8, a caller identifying as an Ohio State student reported a possible hazing incident, saying, "They set their pledges on fire and there is a video of it," and "They put gasoline on him and lit him on fire, and then just kind of stood there and laughed." The caller did not know the people in the video and had received it in a group chat. Police responded to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house on Indianola Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. that night and took a statement from the fraternity's president. Columbus police Sgt. Joe Albert said officers are working with Ohio State and the Columbus Division of Fire's Arson Unit to determine whether any criminal acts occurred, and that police received no calls on Saturday and were alerted on Sunday as the video began spreading online.
The Columbus police report filed on November 9 lists the charge under investigation as hazing, and Ohio State's division of public safety is also investigating for hazing. As of November 10, however, how the fire started has not been made public, and neither police nor the university has announced any arrest or charge or confirmed a final determination. Steve Mitchell, chief executive of Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national organization, said in a statement that the organization takes the matter seriously, is actively investigating the circumstances, and is working closely with university officials and local law enforcement. Ohio's 2021 Collin's Law, named for Collin Wiant, an 18-year-old Ohio University freshman who died during a hazing ritual in 2018, increased the legal penalties for hazing and made it a felony offense in Ohio.
Source: Ohio State University and the Columbus Division of Police
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 俄亥俄州立大学Ohio Stadium资料图（Lectrician2摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons；事发地点为校外兄弟会住宅区，图注标资料图）
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- 2026-11-10Follow-up: Police Investigate Ohio State Fraternity Fire as Possible Hazing, Records Show Second- and Third-Degree BurnsThis story
