Inside the moments a high school hazing plot was hatched. When it was over, 11 lacrosse players were facing criminal charges

By Shimon Prokupecz, Linh Tran and Evelio Contreras, CNN

Syracuse, New York (CNN) — As two other crosstown rivals played a thrilling lacrosse game that went into overtime one night last week, some members of the Westhill High School boys’ varsity lacrosse team were in the stands hatching a plan.

Team members texted each other, agreeing that the weather was just right, it was a good night to play a prank on the younger players, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.

That prank on April 24 – a staged kidnapping – spiraled out of control, leaving one player traumatized, his older teammates arrested, and school and law enforcement officials scrambling to deal with the fallout as a tight-knit community tries to make sense of it all.

The younger teammates thought they’d be stopping at McDonald’s before heading home, but what unfolded that night led to 11 students facing criminal charges and what Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick called “criminal activity” and “hazing on steroids.”

The prank, initially targeting multiple players, ultimately involved the abduction of one of them, who was tied up and stuffed in a trunk with a pillowcase over his head, authorities said. The 11 teens have been charged with unlawful imprisonment in the second degree — a misdemeanor, according to a partially redacted complaint Thursday by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office and the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office.

Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon told CNN that for the students who “made this horrible mistake, this is a real life lesson.”

They are in the national spotlight “because of their stupidity. And I think … what is painful is that these families know each other. These kids know each other.”

‘Trying to be make-believe gangsters’

After the game ended, some of the students piled into a car, and instead of going to McDonald’s, the driver pulled over in a remote area, claiming he was lost, according to the DA.

Then accomplices dressed in black, holding what appeared to be at least one handgun and a knife, jumped out of the woods, pretending to be kidnappers, Fitzpatrick said.

Most of the victims ran but one student couldn’t get away. The suspects put a pillowcase over his head, tied him up and threw him in the trunk of the car before dropping him off in another wooded area of the county, the district attorney said.

Some of the suspects came back a short time later, picked up the victim and took him home, according to the sources.

The incident was captured on video, and “you can hear that some of the (suspects) found it amusing,” Fitzpatrick said.

“They were trying to be make-believe gangsters,” said one of the sources, a family member of one of the accused players. The person characterized the incident as a prank gone wrong and criticized initial reports as inaccurately describing what happened.

The source also claimed the students used an airsoft gun, a non-lethal weapon that fires lightweight plastic pellets.

The victim’s family reported the incident to the school the following morning, according to another source, a person close to the situation who has taken part in team meetings on the incident.

The district attorney steps in

The next day in school, video of the incident circulated among some of the students, according to the source. Rumors were flying in the community about what happened.

The school resource officer reported the incident to the sheriff’s office, which then launched an investigation, said Onondaga County Undersheriff Jeffrey Passino in a news conference. The school district also launched an investigation.

“I don’t think anybody understood the significance or severity at first,” the source said.

The families of the students involved, suspects and victims were united in not wanting the district attorney to move forward with criminal charges, according to the sources.

Some of the families do not agree with the DA’s description of what happened the night of the prank, according to the source who is a family member of one of the suspects.

“You had families struggling because they know each other,” McMahon said. “And instead of having families that know each other make very difficult decisions, the district attorney took that very hard decision out of their hands, into his very capable hands.”

Fitzpatrick offered a 48-hour amnesty deal on Tuesday, where the 11 suspects were allowed to turn themselves in for a misdemeanor charge of unlawful imprisonment. If not, the students would be arrested and face a more serious felony kidnapping charge. All 11 suspects surrendered to the Onondaga County sheriff by Wednesday.

Coach says he works ‘to lead with integrity’

Westhill High School serves a tight-knit, affluent community on the west end of Syracuse, New York. The hazing incident is the talk of the town.

“It is so shocking to the conscience of the entire community,” said the source close to the situation, who has taken part in team meetings. “Everybody is reeling. Everybody is having sleepless nights whether your kids were involved or not. How did it get to this? How did this happen?”

School officials and administrators were also left reeling in the aftermath of the hazing incident, with the team’s head coach acknowledging the controversy on Wednesday.

“As a first-year head coach, I’ve poured everything I have into this team – working to lead with integrity, foster a strong team culture, and support our athletes not just as players, but as young people navigating a complex world. Mental health, education, and family have been cornerstones of my approach – and they always will be,” coach Aaron Cahill said in a post on LinkedIn.

“This week has been one of the hardest of my life, but I am incredibly grateful for the support of my family, our community, and those who know who I am and what I stand for. As we all begin the long process of healing and figuring out the path forward, please continue to keep our program – and each other – in your thoughts,” Cahill said.

Cahill added that he and his coaching staff “have cooperated fully with the ongoing investigation. We have been confirmed to have had absolutely no prior knowledge of this incident.”

Meanwhile, the 11 arrested students have been afraid to leave their houses because they have been harassed when in public, according to the source who is a family member of one of the suspects. The students have begun school suspension hearings, the sources said.

Hoping ‘eventually we can heal’

Though no one was physically hurt, as a result of the hazing incident the rest of the varsity boys’ lacrosse season was canceled. The players and their parents were informed at a meeting on Tuesday, according to the source close to the situation who has taken part in team meetings.

Parents and players were told the reason behind the cancellation was because of increased media attention and there were concerns that teams would not want to play against Westhill, the source said.

Westhill Central School District Superintendent Stephen Dunham said that while most of the team was not involved in the incident or knew about the plans in advance, “We must address the culture of the program, and the most appropriate way to do that is with a reset.”

Students pulled pranks in the past, but nothing to this degree, according to the source who is a family member of one of the suspects.

The sources speculated social media could be a possible influence.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if, later on, we learned that there is some stupid thing on the internet that they learned about, and they wanted to replicate,” McMahon said.

Members of the community say they don’t want this incident to define their town, or the Westhill High School boys’ lacrosse program.

The situation illustrates how “sophomoric pranks can go so wrong,” McMahon said.

The 11 students “got very lucky,” McMahon said.

“Something horrible didn’t happen to these victims. And because of that, they will have the opportunity to learn from this and grow from this as young men. And that’s what I hope happens,” he said. “And I hope that as a community, specifically on the west side of our community, where everyone knows each other, eventually we can heal and we can move forward.”

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