Tweet from Mike Barber (MikeABarber), assistant sports editor and JMU football writer at the Daily News-Record:
The incident in question:Sources confirm JMU investigating involvement of members of the football team in the weekend fight at a frat party that left 3 hospitalized.
http://www.breezejmu.org/news/article_d ... 2bc8b.html
Blood covered the floor of a Lambda Chi Alpha house early Saturday morning after a brawl sent several men to the hospital, witnesses say.
At least eight victims were assaulted and three were taken to Rockingham Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries after an unidentified group of men entered the house, police said Sunday afternoon. The assault happened around 2:30 a.m. Saturday at a party inside 1225 S. Main St.
RMH could not release the status of the unnamed victims Sunday afternoon.
Two witnesses, who wish to remain anonymous for their personal safety, said many of the suspects were black men wearing jeans and dark sweatshirts with their hoods up. Approximately 15 men were fighting that night, according to what witnesses told The Breeze.
"It was really, really brutal," one witness said. "It reminded me of ‘American History X' where people were getting beat on - there was just blood everywhere."
Police are still investigating the incident and obtaining information about suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050.
"They didn't just punch and leave," the same witness said. "They kept pounding the guys and they were pummeling them."
Junior Mike Hill, president of Lambda Chi, said the fraternity is still operating as usual and is working with Harrisonburg Police about the incident.
While the assault happened at the house on the corner of South Main Street and Port Republic Road, which is listed on the fraternity's website, the fraternity's new chapter house is at 1357 S. Main St., according to the group's Facebook page.
Lambda Chi "doesn't want anyone to hold this organization in different esteem in response to any rumors that are circulating," Hill said.
Reports on how the situation escalated are unclear among witnesses.
"We were all dancing in the back room and we heard bottles break and saw guys shuffling and fighting," the female witness said.
She said she had heard that two men were asked to leave the party earlier in the evening but refused to leave. Witnesses claim that other men then arrived and the brawl ensued. Members of Lambda Chi declined to comment further.
The female witness said she and other partygoers were yelling "stop, stop" as the assault was happening.
"After five minutes or so, all the guys in the hoodies left," she said. "I guess they figured they did what they needed to
do and ran off."
Soon, the house was surrounded with several police cars, fire trucks and ambulances.
The witness and her roommates left after talking to police and talked to their cab driver on their way home. She said he reported driving two black men from Copper Beech to the fraternity house about an hour earlier and listening to them talk about fighting and getting revenge for something.
Attempts to reach the driver were unsuccessful.
"The guy fighting him gave him a swift kick to the head," he said. "He kicked him a couple times - he was kicking him like a kicker would kick a football."
Several victims had cuts on their eyebrows, faces, bruises and swollen faces.
"I've seen some stuff but nothing like this," he said.
