UCF fraternity members 'shaken' by gun incident at pledge event, reports show

Pledge master put gun to member's neck, UCF says

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Students interviewed after a University of Central Florida fraternity pledge master allegedly held a gun to another members's neck were "shocked" by the incident, according to investigation documents obtained by News 6.

The Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity was suspended after a member was accused of putting a rifle to the neck of a blindfolded pledge who questioned whether the gun was real after hearing a "racking" sound, UCF said.

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"A pledge continued to say (the gun) wasn't real, that it was a Nerf gun," according to the report.

The pledge master then put the middle of the barrel of the gun to another member's neck, he told authorities.

Another Alpha Epsilon Pi member told that he had never held a gun and that when he saw the firearm he "froze up."

The incident came to light via an email sent to the UCF Police Department last month by an anonymous student.

The member told investigators he thought most people at the event were uncomfortable with what happened.

“I am a concerned student wanting to report an incident. Through anonymous sources, I was informed that the pledge master of AE Pi blindfolded pledges, made them lay on the floor, and then took out a rifle and racked it to make a noise. One of the blindfolded pledges made a comment about it not being real, and the pledge master put the barrel up to the pledge's head and asked him if he thinks it's real now. It was reported to the brothers for the case to be reviewed within our fraternity to see what action to take. I'm sure they won't report this outside of the fraternity."

It's not known if the gun was real or if it was loaded.

Police forwarded the email to university officials, and Alpha Epsilon Pi, which says it promotes leadership in the Jewish community, was suspended. The frat was allowed to hold chapter meetings with school staff monitoring, according to a Feb. 16 letter sent to the fraternity.

 


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