Male college students, participating in scavenger hunt challenge to 'scare someone,’ chase woman on campus

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
PITTSBURGH - AUGUST 26: University Of Pittsburgh signage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 26, 2016. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Men from another university chased a female student at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., as part of a scavenger hunt. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

The University of Pittsburgh police confirmed that men who were accused of chasing a female student on campus were students of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, participating in a scavenger hunt.

The four out-of-town students, now banned from the University of Pittsburgh property, were encouraged to "scare someone" as part of an informal group's game.

Police report that on Tuesday at about 2:30 a.m., two males jumped out of a car and chased the female student on campus. They did not say anything to the female student, and she was not harmed. This incident, as well as two other recent incidents, launched an investigation and a campus-wide alert was issued to students. The men were identified as Richard Calder Buonocore, Matthew Redmond, Otto Laakonen and Jack Armstrong, and Pittsburgh police informed Denison University of their actions.

“We are cooperating with the University of Pittsburgh police on their investigation of this activity on their campus,” Ginny Olderman Sharkey, director of news and external relations for Denison, told Trib Live. Sharkey could not comment further as it is an open investigation, and did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

According to investigators, the students, who attend Denison, were also asked to visit Pittsburgh sports venues, take selfies at various bridges, and publicly insult prominent Pittsburgh sports figures as part of the scavenger hunt.

The University of Pittsburgh police did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

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