A female Georgia college student has died after an armed intruder entered the campus and shot her near a bus stop, causing distress among other students.
The incident happened Saturday afternoon at Kennesaw State University, resulting in the student’s death and the arrest of the suspect, WSB-TV reported.
While the school did not disclose the victim’s identity, university officials confirmed she was “fatally shot on campus” and stated there is “no threat to the campus community.”
— america born (@americaborn1) May 19, 2024
KSU police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are handling the investigation, the university added.
The fatal shooting took place on Campus Loop Road, a location where students commonly gather to wait for buses.
“All I heard was bop, bop, bop, seven or eight times,” said Robert Bowns, who was studying nearby at the time of the shooting. “Five minutes later, I got an alert about an armed intruder on campus.”
KSU Alert emails and social media posts were sent shortly after 4:00 p.m., instructing students and faculty to “seek shelter in a secure location until further notice.”
KSU Alert: Kennesaw Campus: Armed Intruder reported at Kennesaw State. Seek shelter in a secure location until further notice.
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) May 18, 2024
“This was during a time when classes could still have been in session,” Bowns pointed out.
“The tragic aspect is that anyone could have been targeted because it’s a bus stop. It’s a spot we use to sit and wait for our bus,” he added.
Another KSU Alert followed less than 40 minutes later, announcing that a person had been shot but the suspect was “no longer a threat to campus.”
“Avoid the South Campus Housing area due to police activity,” officials advised.
KSU Emergency: ALL CLEAR Person was shot on Kennesaw Campus. Suspect is no longer a threat to campus. Avoid the South Campus Housing area due to police activity
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) May 18, 2024
According to the outlet, this is the second time KSU has issued an alert for an armed intruder on campus.
In January, a shelter-in-place directive was issued after reports of a person with a gun, which police linked to carjacking suspects fleeing through the campus following a crime in DeKalb County.
