A group of 15 to 20 individuals swarmed the deck of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house between 2:15 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Sunday and engaged in alleged physical violence against members of the fraternity and other individuals in the area, according to Sigma Alpha Epsilon President Robert Bailey.
"I've never seen anything like it in four years of being in a fraternity," Bailey said.
Aaron Laushway, associate dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life, confirmed he was notified of the incident, met with two members of the fraternity and spoke with Charlottesville Police. He said the students acted in a "responsible manner" but said he was unaware that any physical violence had occurred.
"I was unaware of any allegations of assult," Laushway said.
University and Charlottesville Police did not return repeated phone calls yesterday.
The individuals scattered as soon as the police arrived on the scene, according to Bailey.
The members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon "were extremely prepared and risk management procedures were followed exactly as they should have been performed in a violent situation," Inter-Fraternity Council President Ross Kimbel said.
Third-year College student Kathryn Sands said she was walking by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house with friends when the incident took place Sunday morning.
"We were directly in front of the house, and this big group of people ran in the street, and there was this big brawl," Sands said. "We just kept walking, and about six to seven police cars rolled in."
Sands said while she was scared by the events that took place, she does not think it will keep her from going to fraternity parties in the future.
"I think this stuff happens every now and then," she said. "I have always felt safe in that area, but I don't think anything is going to change."
Kimbel said the fraternity community is coming together to ensure the safety of the fraternity members and those attending fraternity parties.
"We are taking aggressive actions to bring the community of IFC presidents together so that we can warn each other of individuals in our [greater] community who want to wreak havoc within the system," Kimbel said.
The IFC presidents have established a system of communication that is used to warn each other of individuals who will potentially cause harm during party hours, Kimbel said. Because the alleged assaults at Sigma Alpha Epsilon took place after the 2 a.m. -- the time when all fraternity parties must shut down in accordance to IFC regulations -- the system was not utilized, he added.
Kimbel also said there is a new party policy enacted by the IFC under which fraternity members are encouraged to extend admittance to fraternity parties only to those individuals whom they know.
"The IFC has taken proactive steps to ensure that parties are safe and secure," Kimbel said.
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