An engineering student from Gwinnett County was fatally shot by a police officer on Georgia Tech’s campus Saturday night. .
The GBI is investigating the incident in which the student, who has been identified by Georgia Tech spokesman Lance Wallace as 21-year-old Scout Schultz of Lilburn, was allegedly barefoot and carrying a knife.
At least two students shared cellphone video showing the tense interaction between Schultz and Georgia Tech police officers, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Schultz yells at police to shoot and officers respond, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" more than a dozen times.
"Nobody wants to hurt you,” an officer can be heard saying. “Drop the knife."
A multipurpose tool found on the ground is believed to be the knife Schultz held. The tool did not show an extended blade.
Georgia Tech police officers do not carry stun guns, Wallace said, but they do carry oleoresin capsicum spray, which is commonly referred to as pepper spray.
“We can’t say we’ve never had an officer-involved shooting, but we can say there hasn’t been one in the past 20 years,” Wallace said.
Another video, taken from an angle farther away, shows three officers in front of Schultz and another off to the left at the entrance to the Curran parking deck.
That video pans away to show another officer walking up from behind Schultz and then a gunshot is heard.
“Officers provided multiple verbal commands and attempted to speak with Schultz, who was not cooperative and would not comply with the officers’ commands,” GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. “Schultz continued to advance on the officers with the knife. Subsequently, one officer fired striking Schultz.”
Schultz was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and later died.
AJC Exclusive: Mom of Georgia Tech student shot by police speaks out
Students received an emergency alert from the university and the school tweeted around 11:30 p.m. for everyone to seek shelter in a secure location. About 20 minutes later, the school sent another tweet saying there was no longer a threat to campus.
Camila Pagan, a fourth-year student from Puerto Rico, has been checking Reddit since campus security sent out an alert about an incident on campus at 11:32 p.m. Saturday.
Pagan and other students on campus Sunday said they didn’t know much about the incident but didn’t feel less safe.
“I think these things happen everywhere; it’s just how you handle the situation,” Aashal Dave, a third-year student from Athens, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hunter Marine, a fourth-year student from Marietta, said the video showed the officers about to be attacked.
“I saw a video of it so I think the police did what they were supposed to do,” Marine said.
Sunday morning, Pagan returned to her normal routine, studying outside the library. “There are some people who are under a lot of pressure and you never know who’s thinking what, but honestly I think that campus is still safe,” Pagan said.
Vice President of Student Life And Dean of Students John M. Stein said in a statement that he was deeply saddened by the tragic death of the fourth year student at Georgia Tech.
For those who knew Schultz, “the shock and grief are particularly acute,” Stein said.
Schultz was president of Pride Alliance at Georgia Tech.
The Georgia Tech Progressive Student Alliance said at 4 p.m. they would place flowers and memorabilia on 8th street in front of West Village.
A vigil is set for 8 p.m. Monday at the Georgia Tech Campanile.
The counseling center is available for students from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at the 8th Street Apartments West Building Recreation Room and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the center throughout the week. The after-hours number for the Counseling Center is 404-894-2575.
