A Rutgers University fraternity was suspended this week after a 19-year-old student was hospitalized in critical condition, prompting an investigation into potential hazing, officials said.
The university issued a cease and desist on the Alpha Signa Phi chapter on Wednesday following the incident earlier in the day.
According to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, police responded to a disconnected 911 call at a home in New Brunswick around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. That’s where officers found the university student seriously injured and unresponsive.
The student was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where he was still listed in critical condition as of Friday, prosecutors said.
The Rutgers chapter received training on health and safety last month, the fraternity’s national organization said in a statement to NBC New York.
“We are currently gathering information as to what happened that evening but to be very clear…if it is determined by the Fraternity, the University or law enforcement that the undergraduate members hazed that evening, the chapter will be closed, any member who directly or indirectly participated in those activities will be permanently expelled and the Fraternity will encourage the University and law enforcement to pursue the maximum penalties allowed,” the statement read.
The Alpha Sigma Phi chapter at Rutgers has been placed on an interim suspension while national fraternity officials and campus officials investigate the incident.