Westhill Lacrosse Players Face Charges for Hazing and Failed Abduction

A series of articles detail a disturbing hazing incident involving the Westhill High School lacrosse team in Syracuse, New York. On April 24, a group of older players staged a mock abduction of younger teammates, using an airsoft gun and a knife to threaten and tie up one player, placing a pillowcase over his head and locking him in a car trunk before leaving him briefly in a wooded area. The previous night, a failed attempt at a similar hazing incident occurred, but the intended victims recognized it as a joke and no formal complaints were filed for that attempt. Eleven students involved in the April 24 incident turned themselves in after being threatened with felony kidnapping charges and were ultimately charged with unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor. Local officials and hazing experts have expressed concern over the traumatic impact on those involved, with calls for therapy and reflection on the seriousness of such actions, which have drawn national attention. Some community voices have described the perpetrators as otherwise good students who made a serious error in judgment.