Worcester, Mass. — Five Assumption University students and a juvenile are facing Kidnapping and Conspiracy charges for allegedly taking part in a TikTok Challenge gone wrong.
Assumption University police say the students, using a Tinder account belonging to an 18-year-old student, tricked a man into meeting up with her on campus.
The point of the meetup, according to police, was to record a “Catch a Predator-styled video.”
On October 1, the man, who was in Worcester to attend his grandmother’s funeral, met the female student in a reception area inside Alumni Hall.
According to a police report, a large group of mostly male students were hiding in that reception area.
They eventually came out of hiding and allegedly confronted the victim and restrained him.
The victim got away, but he was chased by a mob of up to 30 people.
Someone punched the victim in the back of the head.
And out in the parking lot, somebody slammed his car door on him as he tried to get away.
After reviewing the video of the incident, Assumption Police allege the entire incident was a setup
“The primary group of conspirators…exchanged ideas of what to text the subject in order to lead him onto campus.
The premeditated gathering and staging of the students in the lounge area to catch this subject… was conducted by the use of trickery or deceit to seize, confine or kidnap this person,” police said in a report.
In a statement, Assumption University said in part:
“The behavior described in the court filing is abhorrent….
This incident highlights the real harm social media can inflict when it promotes dangerous and irresponsible behavior.”
I briefly spoke to the victim’s father who told me his son lives out of state.
He did not wish to comment further.
I reached out to the students charged and did not receive any comment.
The students are due in Worcester District Court for arraignment on January 16th.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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