• District Attorney gives 11 Syracuse lacrosse players 48 hours to surrender.
• Incident involved a staged abduction with weapons to haze younger teammates.
• Players face potential kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment charges.

The district attorney for Onondaga County, New York, has ordered eleven high school students involved in a hazing incident to turn themselves in within 48 hours or face serious criminal charges, including kidnapping. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick referred to the case as an example of "hazing on steroids," emphasizing its gravity during a press conference. The students allegedly targeted younger members of the Westhill High School boys lacrosse team, creating a dangerous situation that involved stopping at a remote location and pretending to kidnap a teammate, according to ABC News and CBS News.

The incident occurred after the older players invited several younger teammates for an evening outing, which turned into a terrifying ordeal. According to Fitzpatrick, while one player drove the group under the pretense of getting lost, accomplices dressed in black emerged to simulate an abduction, wielding at least one gun and one knife. The victim was reportedly tied up, placed in the trunk of a car, and later returned home unharmed. "This goes way, way beyond hazing," Fitzpatrick stated, pointing out the serious implications of the students' actions, as noted by ABC News, CBS News, and The New York Times.

Following the aftermath of the incident, Westhill High School administration has canceled the rest of the lacrosse season, acknowledging the need for a reset in the team's culture. Superintendent Steve Dunham expressed that the decision aimed to foster a more positive environment despite the impact on innocent players. "While I understand the perspective that not all student-athletes should be punished for the actions of a few, we must address the culture of the program," he stated, as reported by ABC News, CBS News, and The New York Times.