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Crime

Ohio State suspends fraternity as police investigate video of two people on fire

Columbus police and the fire division's arson unit are examining whether any crimes occurred, while the university says the two people are receiving medical care.

Thompson Library on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013
Thompson Library on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013. Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
15 news outlets reported this
Liberal7 outletsThe suspension and what the video showsCenter5 outletsSuspension explained, with Ohio State's fraternity discipline historyConservative3 outletsThe scene, onlookers' reaction, and open questions
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

While it investigates a video showing two people on fire, Ohio State University has temporarily suspended the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. The video spread on social media. It shows one person whose sweatpants are burning lunging at another, whose clothing then catches fire.

Bystanders move in as the two fall to the ground and strip off their clothes. Columbus police say the incident appears to have happened on Saturday. Fox News gives the date as Nov. 7 and the place as the 1900 block of Indianola Avenue.

Police got no calls for help that day, but someone phoned Sunday evening to report the video. University spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said the two people are receiving medical care and the matter has been referred to university and Columbus police. Working with the university and the arson unit of the Columbus Division of Fire, police said they're checking whether any crimes occurred.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon CEO Steve Mitchell said the national organization is investigating and will take appropriate action. As of Monday, Newsweek reports, authorities had not said precisely how the first person's clothing caught fire or how badly anyone was hurt, and no charges had been announced.

Three sides of the story

7Liberal5Center3Conservative

15 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal7 outlets

The suspension and what the video shows

The Independent opens with the suspension after a video that appears to show "two panicked men on fire," then walks through the footage: one man with burning sweatpants tackles a second, and both roll on the ground as onlookers rush in. The Guardian's US edition runs a wire report with the same account. Both give space to spokesperson Benjamin Johnson's statement calling the incident "extremely concerning" and to Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert, who says police got no calls for assistance at the location but someone reported the video Sunday evening.

Both also carry CEO Steve Mitchell's pledge to hold those responsible accountable. Yahoo News runs a UPI report that adds the police statement about working with the fire division's arson unit, says the incident appears to have happened off the fraternity's grounds, and notes Ohio State's revocation of another fraternity in July. Al Jazeera English reports that the video shows two men engulfed in fire "as spectators laugh."

Center5 outlets

Suspension explained, with Ohio State's fraternity discipline history

Newsweek calls the video "disturbing" and organizes its report as questions and answers: why the chapter was suspended, how police responded, what happens next. It stresses that an interim suspension is not itself a finding of a policy violation. It cites The Hill's report that the party was held at a nearby property, not the main fraternity house, and lists earlier Ohio State discipline, including Pi Kappa Phi's 10-year revocation and Kappa Delta Rho's revocation through May 2030.

It says authorities had not disclosed precisely how the fire started or the severity of the injuries. UPI leads with the suspension and quotes the police department on working with the arson unit. The Seattle Times runs a wire report built around Johnson, Albert and Mitchell.

The Hill reports that the video, posted on X, appears to show one person's burning pants and a second person catching fire.

Conservative3 outlets

The scene, onlookers' reaction, and open questions

Fox News opens with a "disturbing" video of two people engulfed in flames "as onlookers cheered," and police looking into whether any criminal acts occurred. It describes the footage in detail, including several people who appear to be holding drinks and a voice shouting "Take them off." Johnson, Sgt. Albert and Mitchell are quoted from statements to Fox News Digital.

Fox says the cause of the incident and how badly the two were injured was unclear Monday, and it ends with renewed scrutiny of fraternities after hazing cases. The New York Post calls the video "terrifying" and says a crowd "callously stands by and laughs." It reports that the university has not explained how the fraternity was linked to the incident or whether those involved are members, and that the men's condition is unclear.

What a side did not mention
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionOhio State revoked another fraternity's recognition in July after a hazing incident that hospitalized a student Reported by Yahoo News, UPI, Newsweek
Where outlets disagree
All sources: 19 articles from 15 outlets

Liberal (8)

Center (7)

Conservative (4)

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