Pi Kappa Alpha Members Arrested and Charged in Brutal Assault

This time last month, Greeks across America were promoting hazing prevention and awareness. Only a few weeks later, a vicious attack ensued on a brother of Sigma Pi by five members of Pi Kappa Alpha, also known as PIKE, at the Ole Miss Sigma Pi fraternity house. Most news outlets have caught wind of the incident in just the past 48 hours, although the assault occurred on October 6th. According to 11Alive News, “Five Ole Miss students were arrested in connection with the assault that left student Jeremy Boyle with multiple injuries, including a concussion, ruptured eardrum and broken teeth. Tucker Cole Steil, 18, was arrested on a felony assault charge. James Declan Basile, 19, was arrested on charges of assault, hazing and larceny. Christian Guy, Kyle Hughes and Austin Rice, all 19, were charged with larceny. All five are freshmen, according to the university.”

Robert Boyle, the victim’s grandfather, told WMC-TV “”They descended upon him and beat him unmercifully–beat him within an inch of his life.” While Boyle worries about his grandson’s condition, an anonymous family member of one of the students arrested spoke up and said it was “…a prank gone wrong”. “According to the family member the Pi Kappa Alpha members were trying to take a donkey from the other house as a joke. That is when things got out of hand.” According to the victim, he was working on his homework when he saw someone outside of his house. The victim noticed “One was wearing black facemask and the others were in “pledge attire”.

Although the attackers have been arrested and face charges through the Ole Miss’s police department, the school and the national Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity have yet to respond. Four of the five attackers had smug grins on their faces in their mugshots, making it even more astounding that Ole Miss has yet to do anything about it. The Pi Kappa Alpha website states “PIKEs set the standard for integrity, intellect and high moral character.” Pi Kappa Alpha also has a strict no hazing policy in place, of which every chapter is made aware. With the story in the public eye, hopefully the school and national organizations will respond and take action soon. Below are some tweets reacting to the assault:

 

This is disgusting and any one who makes light of it is honestly a coward and a f**g ********** #useyourimagination https://t.co/06U8y6nGDI

— Megan (@MegPCat) October 23, 2015

@dentonparksfdn @PiKappaAlpha what about the violent criminal activity your organization facilitated? — TVLover (@ILustTv) October 22, 2015

Shoutout to that drunk Ole Miss Pike last weekend that told me his fraternity never does anything wrong https://t.co/bXSrj1X9nF

— sellars (@uhohcourtknee) October 23, 2015

This isn’t the first time Pi Kappa Alpha has been in hot water for hazing incidents and other brutal crimes. Just last month, a Pi Kappa Alpha member from Utah State University was accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Last April, the PIKE chapter at Western Carolina University was closed “…after police launched an investigation into allegations of assault and waterboarding.”

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger because of hazing, call 911.