Days after the heartbreaking loss of their youngest child, a grieving Gwinnett County family is eager for answers — and an arrest.
Kennesaw State University student Oluwafemi Oyerinde, 18, died Sunday at his off-campus apartment. He’d been shot in the back.
"If (the perpetrator) is hiding in someone's house, can they, for the love of God, bring him forward?” Maria Brown, Oyerinde’s aunt, told Channel 2 Actions News. “We just want closure.”
Cobb County police have said a dispute on Friday night precipitated the Sunday morning shooting. Oyerinde’s family told Channel 2 they think the argument began over loud music.
While authorities pursue the case, Oyerinde’s loved ones plan to remember him at upcoming vigils. The campus community will come together on Monday:
Another candlelight vigil is planned for 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Harbins Park in Dacula. Those attending are asked to wear blue and white and bring an electric candle.
Oyerinde, known as Femi to those closest to him, graduated in May from Archer High School in Lawrenceville. He planned to study mechanical engineering and later join the military, his family said.
RELATED: Deadly shooting of 18-year-old KSU student not random, police say
Two other teens were injured in the Sunday shooting at the Stadium Village apartment complex. They are not Kennesaw State students. Records show officers summoned by 911 callers responded to the development 31 times last month.
Records show a stabbing at the complex was reported in January, gunfire was reported in both January and February and an armed robbery was reported in May.
In March 2017, two 21-year-old men were wounded in a shooting during a large party at the complex, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Shortly before 1 a.m. on a Friday, gunshots were exchanged between two large groups during a party, Cobb police previously said.
Preferred Campus Management, which runs the complex and another one nearby, released an emailed statement Wednesday regarding the shooting.
"Preferred Campus Management is saddened by the recent incident at Stadium Village,” William Barkwell, chief operating officer, told The AJC. “We are of course coordinating with local law enforcement and all is secure on the property. We also want to assure both residents and the community that security has been stepped up. Please contact the Cobb County Police for any further information about the incident."
Police have not made any arrests but have said the shooting followed a dispute between neighbors. Anyone with information is asked to call Cobb County police at 770-499-3945.
A Go Fund Me campaign to defray funeral costs raised more than $23,000 by Wednesday afternoon and was shut down.
“An entire community mourns over a life taken too soon from us,” the page reads. “We are hurt, we are broken and just can’t understand it.”
It’s the second time in 13 months that a gun has prompted heightened security among the Kennesaw State community. In September 2018, a student was arrested after allegedly carrying a loaded weapon on campus and saying he was known to “stack bodies.” No one was injured.
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