The University of Virginia Police Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether one of the university's employees was struck during a torchlit white supremacist rally on Friday, three days before he suffered a stroke.
Tyler Magill, a University of Virginia Library employee, was hospitalized by a stroke on Tuesday, after he was caught in violent clashes with the tiki torch-wielding white supremacists who descended on a group of students protesting them in Charlottesville on Friday.
His stroke was the result of a dissected carotid artery in his neck, which caused blood clots leading to the stroke.
Many of his friends and coworkers shared his story on social media, alleging that he was struck in the neck with a tiki torch while defending the students from white supremacists, causing damage to his carotid artery.
On Thursday, a university spokesperson told BuzzFeed News: "The University of Virginia Police Department is aware of the incident you have mentioned and has opened a criminal investigation into it. Since it is an active investigation, we are not able to make any further comment."