Four Texas State Fraternity Pledges Arrested on Hazing Charges After Teen Allegedly Forced Into Truck

Police have arrested four members of a fraternity at Texas State University in the United States on hazing allegations. The allegation is that an 18-year-old was forced into a pickup truck with his mouth taped shut, and he was screaming for help.

Police said several calls came in at around 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday reporting that several men were forcing another man into a blue pickup truck. Russell Wilde, public safety communications specialist for the city of San Marcos, told Fox News Digital about the calls.

Citing a probable cause affidavit by law enforcement, KSAT reported that the 18-year-old's mouth was taped shut and he was yelling for help and to be let go.

Officers later located the truck at the Arba Apartments in San Marcos. According to court documents, it then emerged that the incident involved pledges of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Texas State University.

The four arrested are William Oldner, 19, Noah Lara, 20, Tyler Fogg, 18, and Wyatt Carr, 18. Each of them was arrested on misdemeanor hazing charges.

Police said the 18-year-old who was forced into the truck is an active member of the fraternity and was not injured. So the incident was not an attack on an outsider, but part of a ritual inside the fraternity — though in the eyes of police it crossed the line into crime.

Wilde said those involved told officers the incident was a 'tradition' — they were taking part in it as part of their fraternity initiation. In other words, by the accused's own account, it was an act done in the name of an initiation ritual.

A spokeswoman for Phi Delta Theta's General Headquarters told Fox News Digital the organisation is aware of the alleged incident. She said that upon learning of the matter, Phi Delta Theta began gathering information and is working closely with the university and local law enforcement, and will continue to cooperate fully throughout the investigation.

The spokeswoman also said Phi Delta Theta holds the safety of every member, as well as the individuals of the campuses and communities they are part of, in the highest regard, and does not support or condone behaviour that jeopardises the safety of others.

The incident has brought back the long-running debate over fraternity hazing on American university campuses. Acts done in the name of initiation that put physical and mental pressure on new members or members have repeatedly led to legal and administrative action in the country.

Fox News Digital reached out to Texas State University and to the four arrested students — Carr, Oldner, Lara and Fogg — for comment. No response from them was mentioned in the report.

For now, the case against the four will proceed through the courts. Attention will now be on what the university and the fraternity's central organisation decide in their own inquiries — and whether disciplinary action follows against the members.