Four GW students were hospitalized early Friday morning after a fight that began at Paper Moon restaurant in Georgetown and ended with a brick thrown through a window near GW’s campus. At least eight students were arrested for alcohol-related crimes.
Witnesses said an argument began between two GW students at about 1:45 a.m. inside the 1073 31st St. restaurant, which party coordinator Events Concepts International rented out Thursday night as a dance club.
Witnesses said lights in the club were turned on after students began throwing chairs and beer bottles, and bouncers escorted them out. They said fighting escalated on 31st Street among at least 20 Zeta Beta Tau members, members of the GW baseball team and 20 to 30 other GW students.
Zeta Beta Tau President Stu Katz said Heath Loring, a former member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, was kicked in the face after attempting to break up the fight. Loring, who had promoted the event, was treated at Georgetown University Hospital for a broken jaw and other facial injuries, including missing teeth, and was released Saturday.
At least one other Zeta Beta Tau member and two former Alpha Epsilon Pi members were injured in the fight.
Sophomore Jared Zimmel, a Zeta Beta Tau member, said he was struck in the face with a beer bottle and treated at GW Hospital with 12 stitches above his right eye.
Seniors Adam Tager and Mike Shapiro, also former Alpha Epsilon Pi members, suffered minor injuries and were treated at Georgetown University Hospital, according to a police report.
Loring, Tager, Shapiro and Zimmel filed an assault report with MPD describing two suspects: a 5-foot-10-inch 165-pound white male who is about 21 years old and a 5-foot-10-inch 225 pound black male with corn rows who also appeared to be 21, according to the report. The suspects are believed to be GW students, according to witnesses.
Witnesses said more than one GW baseball player was involved in the fighting. But, Zeta Beta Tau members involved in the fight were unable to tie any players to the scene using team photographs.
Senior baseball player Matt Krimmel said he was at the restaurant with teammates but left before the fight. Senior Mike Bassett also confirmed he attended the event.
“To my knowledge there were no baseball players involved in the altercations,” baseball coach Tom Walter said.
Witnesses said students other than Zeta Beta Tau members and baseball players were involved in the fight.
“It wasn’t just one group or two groups of people,” sophomore Jack Binder said. “It was just random people fighting.”
Binder said uniformed MPD officers joined undercover officers about 10 minutes after the fight began outside, pulling up in 10 to 12 cruisers. He said two or three officers drew guns to break up the fight.
At about 3 a.m. that day, a brick was thrown through the first floor window of the house at 910 New Hampshire Ave. where Zeta Beta Tau President Stu Katz lives. Four other Zeta Beta Tau members live there.
Katz said the brick “could have killed someone” because it was thrown into the living room of the house and hit a wall at least 10 feet from the window.
Zeta Beta Tau members have filed a police report for destruction of property with MPD.
Katz said groups of about 20 Zeta Beta Tau members went to a house at 604 23rd St. to confront students they believed injured their friends.
Sophomore Jonathan Iger, a resident of the house, said he and seven of his friends were involved in the fight but said none is responsible for the hospitalizations. Iger said he called MPD when Zeta Beta Tau members approached the house, but the fraternity members continued to stop by the house throughout the night.
“Our policy has and will always be that we don’t go out looking for fights, bu t that’s not to say that when someone starts a fight with one of our brothers that we won’t back it up,” Katz said.
– Mosheh Oinounou contributed to this report.
