Young Baton Rouge Student Dies During Fraternity Pledging Ritual

The Baton Rouge Police Department is investigating a tragic incident that took the life of a young Southern University student Wednesday night.

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20-year-old Caleb Wilson was participating in some sort of fraternity ritual for Southern University's Omega Psi Phi at North Sherwood Forest Community Park when he collapsed.

Police are investigating the situation but say the details of what took place at the park are not clear at this time. The only detail regarding the ritual that has been released is that it involved the pledges standing in a line, and it was then that Wilson collapsed.

More information will be released now that a death investigation is underway.

Members of the fraternity brought Wilson who was reportedly already unresponsive to Baton Rouge General Hospital on Bluebonnet Boulevard early Thursday morning, Feb. 27, where he was pronounced dead by hospital staff.

The Baton Rouge Police Department did not receive a call reporting the incident until after he was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m.

The university released the following statement:

Southern University and A&M College is aware of an off-campus incident that may have resulted in the death of student Caleb Wilson, a junior from New Orleans majoring in mechanical engineering. The campus community extends condolences to his family, classmates and loved ones. No further information is available at this time Counseling services are available for Southern University students, faculty and staff. Resources can be found at subr.edu/ucc.

As the community mourns his passing, he's remembered as a talented trumpet player and member of the Human Jukebox, the school's marching band. The community also extends condolences to his father who is a member of the New Orleans Police Department.

East Baton Rouge Parish coroner's office said that "The cause and manner of his death are currently pending the results of an autopsy," according to 4WWL.

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