The University of Central Florida suspended Alpha Epsilon Pi over reports fraternity pledges were blindfolded and one had a rifle put to their head.

  • UCF suspends Alpha Epsilon Pi over anonymous letter
  • Letter claims pledges blindfolded, rifle placed to pledge's head
  • Fraternity says the member who did this was removed
An AEPi spokesperson says the incident "was not a condoned action by the chapter" and that the member who allegedly did this has been suspended pending removal.

UCF Police got an anonymous letter back in February from a student reporting these allegations.

The student described himself as part of the fraternity, and says he heard about the incident second hand.

"Through anonymous sources, I was informed that the pledge master of A E Pi blindfolded pledges, made them lay on the floor, and then took out a rifle and racked it to make a noise. One of the blindfolded pledges made a comment about it not being real, and the pledge master put the barrel up to the pledge's head and asked him if he thinks it's real now. It was reported to the brothers for the case to be reviewed within our fraternity to see what action to take."

Later in the letter the student writes, “I don’t believe any fraternity on campus should be involved with any kind of firearms and would like this issue to be handled accordingly.”

Police forwarded the complaint on to UCF’s Office of Student Conduct because the police department said there wasn’t a specific location for the incident.

The Office of Student Conduct is now investigating and had a hearing last Friday. We’re still waiting to hear the outcome of their investigation.

Jon Pierce, a spokesperson for AEPi, issued this statement:

"Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity has a longstanding and strict anti-hazing policy that all of our members and potential members should be aware of. We have removed the member who was responsible for this incident and continue to educate the remaining members about our policies. This was not a condoned action by the chapter. Rather, it represents the actions of a rogue member who, again, has been suspended from the fraternity pending his permanent removal. Our staff continues to work with the UCF administration and our chapter leaders to ensure that this type of behavior never happens again. Hazing has no place in our fraternity."

This is the second fraternity to be suspended in the last month. Phi Delta Theta was suspended for an incident in January were a student said the fraternity was hazing pledges and causing "psychological harm.