After a Southern University and A&M College student Caleb Wilson died, police are looking into a possible hazing incident, according to school authorities
According to school officials, 20-year-old junior Caleb Wilson passed away on February 27 after an incident off campus at the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, college. When police from the Baton Rouge Police Department arrived at the hospital at around three in the morning that day, they reported that he was taken there unresponsive.
Who is Caleb Wilson as Southern University, Baton Rogue, LA student is killed in Omega Psi Phi hazing incident, cause of death, bio, age and parents
Questions remain as members of the community remembered 20-year-old Caleb Wilson, an engineering student at Southern University who died last week after what the university is now calling an alleged hazing incident and on Wednesday, the parents of Wilson were visibly heartbroken as photos of their son lined the wall of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Kenner.
“Caleb grew up in this church from a baby,” said Reverend Mitchell Stevens. “He was baptized here, so he’s been a member all of his life. As a matter of fact, his family, his father and his mother and his grandfather who was a pastor of this church for 44 years.”
“The loss of Caleb has left an unimaginable void in our hearts, but your kindness and compassion have provided some solace,” the Wilson family said. “Caleb was a bright and talented young man with a promising future ahead of him. His passion for life, his dedication to his studies, and his love for music and the Southern University ‘Human Jukebox’ Marching Band were just a few of the many qualities that made him an extraordinary person.”
“Thank you all, the Human Jukebox. This is Caleb’s life, he really loved the Human Jukebox,” his father Corey Wilson said.
Caleb Wilson, a member of Southern University and A&M College’s marching band and a junior studying mechanical engineering, passed away on February 27 and the Southern University engineering student and member of the Human Jukebox died after an alleged hazing incident.
“If you’re not D9 don’t speak on Caleb Wilson.”
You all beat this young man, dropped him off at the hospital & then met up to discuss what lie y’all was going to tell the police. This is murder! Send them to prison! pic.twitter.com/5BH5pC952Q
— Jerome Trammel, M.B.A (@MrJeromeTrammel) March 4, 2025
Wilson played the trumpet for the “Human Jukebox,” the marching band that recently performed at the Super Bowl. Wilson was characterized as a gifted, committed, and intelligent individual who “poured his passion” into his education and music in a statement posted on the band’s Facebook page.
The death of the 20-year-old Southern University student in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is now being investigated by law enforcement as a hazing incident.
Reactions to Caleb Wilson’s death
In response to the “unfortunate and unnecessary” death of Caleb Wilson, the university said in a statement on Tuesday that the police department and the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office are looking into an “alleged act of hazing involving members of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.”
Frat boys at Southern University in Louisiana lied to police about how a 20-year-old pledge and marching band member collapsed and died during a violent off-campus hazing ritual.
Omega Psi Phi fraternity brothers initially told Baton Rouge police that junior Caleb Wilson collapsed suddenly during an early morning ritual at a public park on February 21 however Wilson actually had a seizure after he was punched in the chest in a local warehouse.
Wilson, a trumpeter with the university’s renowned Human Jukebox marching band, was among nine pledges lined up at the unsanctioned ritual where each was forced to take punches to the chest.
Wilson took a blow, collapsed to the warehouse floor and began to have a seizure and was rushed to Baton Rouge General Hospital, where he died at 3:15 a.m.
Afterward, members of the fraternity secretly gathered and allegedly concocted the story about Wilson collapsing in North Sherwood Forest Community Park when in reality none of the students participating had stepped foot in the park that night.
A cause of death was not immediately determined following an autopsy and further testing is also underway.
A historically Black institution and university, Southern University, stated that it is assisting with the criminal probe. In addition, the school is investigating Wilson’s death internally after receiving complaints of “unsanctioned off-campus activities” and will “take appropriate action” after the inquiry is over.
In the midst of its hazing inquiry, the institution announced on Wednesday that it had started the student judiciary process for any potential policy violations.
Just saw this video on the clock app… they paid respects to Caleb Wilson while at Mardi Gras 😭😭😭😭 🙏🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/vUms05IlqL
— EB 🫶🏾 (@ebknowing) March 5, 2025
The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office told ABC News on Wednesday that the cause and manner of Wilson’s death are still unknown pending the findings of further forensic testing.
Additional information regarding the incident has not been made public by the police or school authorities. The Baton Rouge Police Department does not have any new information on the inquiry as of Wednesday.
The fraternity’s top official, Ricky Lewis, stated in a statement that they are “actively working to gather accurate information” during the local authorities’ inquiry and that “we fully support their efforts to seek the truth.”
The Human Jukebox marched for Caleb Wilson, honoring him with every step, every note. Through our sorrow, we played with purpose at Bacchus—his legacy will live on. 🕊️💙 #EternalJuke #LLC pic.twitter.com/aTQwu9eAoo
— HBCU Pride Nation (@HBCUPrideNation) March 4, 2025