TAYLOR — The U.S. Marine Corps is expanding its investigation into the death of a 20-year-old Muslim Marine recruit from Taylor who fell 40 feet from a barracks stairwell 11 days after reporting to boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina.

This week, Marine Corp officials said that Raheel Siddiqui may have been subjected to being improperly assigned to a drill instructor who was under investigation for ethnic intimidation. 

“Existing orders, policies and procedure to prevent improper assignments were not followed,” according to the statement from the Training and Education Command of the U.S. Marine Corps. “A drill instructor was improperly placed in charge of recruits while he was subject to an ongoing investigation.”

An investigation is expected to shed light not only on Siddiqui’s death, but also deeper systemic problems at the 3rd Recruit Training Battalionunit, which has a notorious reputation for harsh treatment of recruits.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the drill sergeant had allegations made against him of putting another Muslim recruit in a clothes dryer and making racially charged remarks.

The Marines Corps has said the rigors of the training caused Siddiqui to become faint. He sought medical treatment, according to the official version of his death, and then ran from the room and jumped off the external stairwell.

The son of immigrants, he was a class valedictorian and a robotics and engineering whiz at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus, where the Marines recruited him. He saw a short-term future as a jet mechanic for the Corps and a longer-term future as an FBI agent.

“He liked challenges and didn’t want something easy,” his sister said of his decision to join the Marines. “He liked the respect that the Marines got.”

His family believes he would’ve never committed suicide. 

He was also a devout Muslim “who believed this country represented freedom and opportunity and wanted to defend those ideals,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, whose district includes Taylor, said in a statement.

On Thursday, the congresswoman persisted for answers,  saying that treports of a drill instructor putting a Muslim recruit inside a clothes dryer “is deeply disturbing.”

“How do we ensure that all recruits are treated equally and receive the proper training to be effective at their jobs as soldiers without resorting to tough and discriminatory tactics that could put someone’s life at risk?” Dingell asked.