IU Students Involved In Meat Cleaver Incident Expelled And Could Be Deported

Last updated on Thursday, November 7, 2013

(BLOOMINGTON) - 18-year-old Zesen Shen pleaded not guilty to charges of intimidation and battery after he was arrested and accused of slashing a fellow IU student with a meat cleaver outside Tulip Tree Apartments on October 27th.

Shen remains in jail with a $5,500 bond. He made his plea with the assistance of an interpreter.

Shen's accomplice, 21-year-old Kaiyu Luo, was charged with intimidation and paid the $5,500 bond the day of his arrest and was released from jail. Luo has also pleaded not guilty.

Shen and Luo are both IU international students from China. According to IU Vice President of Communications Mark Land, both men were suspended last week.

Now that the two men are no longer considered IU students they could have their visas revoked and be deported after their charges are resolved.

If Shen does post bond, officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Indianapolis could continue to detain Shen. Luo is still out on bail.

IU Police Department officer Gregory McClure says the men were fighting about a woman.

According to police, Shen, a Wright Quad resident, told police his girlfriend had gone to Indianapolis with friends and was supposed to return at 10 p.m. Saturday, October 26th. She was late, and that made him mad, so he waited for her in his car outside Tulip Tree apartments. At 2 a.m., a white Audi drove up and his girlfriend got out. Shen told police he followed the car a short distance, honking his horn, then returned to an apartment at Tulip Tree, located on East 10th Street.

According to a probable cause affidavit the two men then exchanged phone calls during which Shen threatened the other man. The man returned to the apartment about 3 a.m. with four others to fight Shen. So Shen got a friend, Kaiyu Luo to help him confront the group.

Shen, who told police he was afraid, allegedly grabbed a meat cleaver and ran after the man who had dropped off his girlfriend.

Shen allegedly hit the man with the cleaver leaving a 4-inch gash on the back of the man's lower back and two smaller cuts on his shoulder and upper arm. The man was treated at IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

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