Traditional West Point Pillow Fight Leaves Dozens of Cadets Seriously Injured

An annual pillow fight at the United States' premiere military academy in West Point, New York, left dozens of cadets seriously injured.

The New York Times reports that the annual tradition had a dangerous new edge this year, with cadets putting hard objects including helmets inside the pillow cases, resulting in broken bones, concussions, and bruised and battered faces.

At least 24 students suffered from concussions, one had a broken leg, and a number of students also suffered from dislocated shoulders. One student was taken away from the scene in an ambulance and is said to not yet have returned. Through a spokesperson the school denied that anything had happened. The incident is said to have taken place Aug. 20.

Typically, participants are supposed to wear helmets to prevent serious injuries, but it appears that many cadets did not wear the helmets and in some cases actually put the helmets into the pillowcases to make their weapon more devastating.

The academy has said that it does not plan to cancel the tradition and it does not seem like anyone has yet been punished.

Participants in the fight didn't seem too concerned about the injuries and actually seemed to be proud of themselves according to a number of social media posts cited by the Times.