Chaos In College Dining Hall After Raccoon Falls Through Ceiling

Chaos erupted in a Louisiana State University (LSU) dining hall when a raccoon fell through the ceiling Wednesday evening.

Students could be seen screaming and running throughout the cafeteria in videos posted on social media and shared by Reveille, a local media outlet.

One video showed a crowd gathering around the raccoon and filming as it sat on the back of a chair and rummaged through a backpack. Other videos show cafeteria staff frantically chasing the raccoon with a broom and a trash can.

At one point, two men closed in on the raccoon in a video shared by LSU Tiger TV. One slowly lowered a large trash can beneath it as the other struck the raccoon with a broom.

The raccoon narrowly missed the trash can and spun several times midair before sprinting past several more people poised with brooms and trash cans as onlookers shrieked with excitement.

A student told the Reveille that the men attempting to trap the animal with brooms and trash cans were with animal control and that before they showed up, a cook tried to catch the raccoon with a basket.

“All I hear was a raccoon was in the 459,” one student told Reveille. “I went and still got my food because I thought that it was fake. The raccoon then ran underneath my table and I immediately got on top of the chair.”

“The raccoon was trapped by the pasta area by LSU students so it would not run,” another student said, Reveille reported. “The workers still allowed students to enter even though they knew that a raccoon was inside.”