New details have emerged in the investigation of the shellfish incident involving a Jewish student fraternity at the University of Berkeley. Ynetnews has learned that a freshman student from within the fraternity has come forward to the police, acknowledging that the incident was a prank that spiraled out of control, contrary to the initial suspicion of antisemitism.
According to members of the "Alpha Epsilon Phi" fraternity house, the student responsible claimed the act was meant as a joke. He is familiar to the fraternity members, and they have decided to withdraw their complaint. "The student did it as a joke. He is known to the fraternity members and they withdrew the complaint. The student is now overwhelmed by the escalation it received, and due to the media coverage and police involvement, it's difficult to undo the situation."
A spokesperson from the University of Berkeley confirmed to Ynetnews that indeed it was a student who threw the seafood into several fraternity houses without understanding the religious implications (Daniel Edelson, New York).