Members of a troubled University of Arizona fraternity shouted an anti-Jewish slur and “Heil Hitler” when they recently kicked down an apartment door and roughed up Jewish students inside, one of the victims told police.
About 25 members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity were seeking revenge and mistakenly stormed the wrong address while trying to retaliate against a Jewish fraternity, Tucson Police Department reports indicate.
One assailant told police he realized almost instantly that the mob was at the wrong apartment, but he couldn’t stop the brawl that followed because his fraternity brothers wouldn’t listen to him.
The four Jewish victims told police they were “once associated” with Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity on the UA campus, the TPD report said, citing a recent UA news release.
The victims were not seriously injured, according to the reports obtained Monday by the Arizona Daily Star through a public-records request.
The Nov. 14 attack occurred on the eighth floor of Hub at Tucson, 1011 N. Tyndall Ave., one of three new off-campus high-rises that cater to students.
A UA student identified by TPD as Jacob Haggard of California faces a charge of first-degree criminal trespass in the incident.
The reports quote Haggard telling police the trouble began after a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon complained he’d been jumped by 12 members of a Jewish fraternity who were holed up inside an eighth-floor apartment. But once inside, the alleged attackers found four people watching TV.
“Haggard stated that as soon as they walked in, he noticed there was not 12 people in the apartment, so he knew there had been a mistake. Haggard tried to stop the group from continuing to assault the four people inside, but he stated it was impossible,” the police reports said.
The national headquarters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has suspended the fraternity memberships of four UA students involved in the attack, calling their conduct “inconsistent with our values and expectations.”
The local chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has been in and out of trouble for several years for hazing, endangerment, promoting underage drinking and other violations. The chapter is on interim suspension and facing a possible shutdown for chronic misconduct.
The UA is still investigating the recent attack. Those involved could face punishment under the university’s code of student conduct.
