Cops raid West Virginia University frat houses in hazing probe, hauling out bags as hundreds of students look on

Two West Virginia University fraternity houses were raided amid hazing allegations, with police seen carrying multiple bags out of the residences in front of hundreds of students.

Search warrants were served Monday on the Lambda Chi Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha houses in Morgantown as part of an ongoing investigation, the West Virginia University Police Department announced on Facebook.

Video posted on Instagram by the Daily Athenaeum, WVU’s student newspaper, shows officers leaving the houses with what appeared to be bags of evidence.

It is unclear what the bags contained, and police have released no other details about what was taken from the residences.

“West Virginia University takes seriously the safety and well-being of our students,” Police said.

“Due to the nature of the investigations, no other details will be released at this time. We will provide updates as they become available.”

No arrests or charges have been announced.

The video also shows hundreds of onlookers crowding the sidewalks and neighboring yards as police searched the fraternity houses.

Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell said his officers were on scene to support university police, according to CBS News.

Police raided two West Virginia University fraternity houses and seized evidence as part of an ongoing hazing investigation. dailyathenaeum/Instagram
Hundreds of onlookers crowded the sidewalks and neighboring yards as police searched the fraternity houses. dailyathenaeum/Instagram

The raids have rattled students in the area.

“The fact that it’s just happening here, actually right there, right by our homes, is insane. It’s crazy,” West Virginia freshman Madison McGough said Tuesday, according to the outlet.

The university slapped Lambda Chi Alpha with an interim suspension on Oct. 9, three days after campus police issued a warning following anonymous reports of hazing.

The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. CBS News

Campus warnings are issued when a crime covered by the Clery Act, a federal law requiring colleges to disclose campus crime, is deemed to pose a “serious or continuing” threat to the campus community.

The suspension followed what the university called “multiple reports,” though the nature and number of the allegations have not been released.

Under the suspension, the chapter cannot hold social events, recruit or run new member programs while the allegations are reviewed.

Pi Kappa Alpha, however, remains a registered fraternity with the university’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and, unlike Lambda Chi Alpha, is not currently listed as being under interim suspension.

West Virginia University slapped Lambda Chi Alpha with an interim suspension on Oct. 9 over hazing allegations. CBS News

“WVU has zero tolerance for hazing or any dangerous activities that threaten student safety or well-being,” the university said on its website.

“The University is committed to providing a safe environment for students, faculty, and staff.”

Under WVU’s Campus Student Code, hazing is strictly prohibited for both individuals and recognized student organizations — including “beatings, branding and forced consumption of alcohol, food or drugs.”

WVU isn’t the only campus where Greek life is under scrutiny.

In August, Penn State police broke up a drug ring run out of a fraternity house, while at Cornell University, a woman has alleged she was gang-raped by seven fraternity members.

Nationwide, at least 556 hazing incidents were reported between July 2025 and August 2026, a Sept. 16 HazingInfo report found.

Roughly one in six US colleges and universities reported at least one.

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