Four standout football players at a Minnesota high school beat a teammate unconscious during a house party in October, leaving the teen with a concussion and “scared to go to school,” his father said.
Dale Hurley discussed the alleged attack on his son as he joined dozens of parents at a board meeting late Monday to hold administrators accountable at Blue Earth Area High School for what they claim is ongoing bullying at the school, KMSP reports.
“He’s scared to go to school,” Hurley said. “His friends are scared to tell him what happened to him. They’ve been hiding it for weeks.”
Senior Wyatt Tungland, 18, is accused of punching Hurley’s 16-year-old son in the face and head while three other teens — sophomore Caden Ochsendorf, 16, and seniors Dalton Nagel and Blake Barnett, both 18 — held him down and continued hitting him as he tried to get away, the Star Tribune reports.
The alleged assault, according to charges filed Monday in Faribault District Court, happened Oct. 19 at a house party in Winnebago, southwest of Minneapolis. Police were finally tipped off to the assault, which was captured on video, three weeks later by a school resource officer.
The victim told cops he had a beef with Barnett prior to the alleged attack. He said he was pushed down during the party and punched in the face, knocking him unconscious.
The teen showed up to football practice the following day with bruises on his swollen face and Barnett showed him a video of the brawl captured by a cellphone, according to the charges.
The victim later learned that he had a concussion from the attack.
The four teens were arrested Friday and released from jail Monday after their arraignments. Tungland faces charges of third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm and aiding and abetting third-degree assault, the Star Tribune reports.
Nagel was charged with one count of third-degree aiding and abetting, while Barnett and Ochsendorf were both charged with third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm and aiding and abetting.
Winnebago Police Chief Eric Olson said police are also probing why it took so long to report the attack. Some parents at Monday’s board meeting suggested a possible cover-up since the teens arrested were standout players on the high school’s football team.
Superintendent Evan Gough declined to comment on any disciplinary action taken against the teens, citing privacy restrictions, but acknowledged “some things that we want to be looking at as a district to work on and improve,” KMSP reports.


