Accused samurai swordsman pleads not guilty in Georgia Tech stabbing

A Georgia Tech graduate with a doctorate in aerospace engineering pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he stabbed a research fellow with a samurai sword two weeks ago.

Kshitij Shrotri, 32, is charged with aggravated assault for allegedly attacking Samer Tawfik, 39, on Feb. 5 at the Weber Space Science and Technology Building on the Tech campus in Midtown Atlanta. Tawfik, who is from Egypt, is a post-doctoral research fellow in the School of Aerospace Engineering.

Shrotri's appearance in court Friday was brief, lasting only a few moments. Shrotri slipped through a door from a holding cell to just inside the courtroom and kept his head leaning down to his shackled hands attached to waist chains. Shrotri's attorney, Katie Elwart, stood at his side, blocking the view photographers had of her client. Usually defendants stand at a lectern at the center of the courtroom.