Tempe Police arrested a 21-year-old ASU student who is suspected of burning a 17-year-old California girl and an 18-year-old female ASU student at a party Saturday night, Sgt. Michael Pooley said.
Economics junior Andrew Kent is being charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of endangerment, according to police.
University students and several members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, including Kent, attended the party on the 1100 block of West Laird Street, Pooley said.
“I know there was a lot of underage drinking there,” Pooley said. “There was a good possibility he was intoxicated or had been drinking.”
Police said the teenager and the woman were burned after Kent threw a bottle of liquor that exploded in a bonfire near them.
Several students nearby helped to put out the flames as they rolled on the ground, according to police.
The 17-year-old teenager, who was visiting the University on a recruiting trip, suffered severe burns on both of her legs, according to police.
The 18-year-old woman was severely burned from the back of her legs to the back of her shoulder, police reported. She left the party and was initially treated by her father, who is a firefighter, before going to the hospital, according to police.
The 17-year-old girl was escorted down the street and away from the party to wait for paramedics, police reported.
The girl is being treated at the hospital, Pooley said.
Police are not holding the fraternity accountable, and it will not see any disciplinary action, Pooley said.
“Right now, it’s just going to be the person who is responsible for this,” Pooley said. “The investigation is revolved around (Kent) and his action.”
Kent was taken to the Maricopa County Jail and was held to see a judge, police reported.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ShawnFVRaymundo
