Tuesday, September 19, 2017
ATLANTA (AP) — Three people were arrested during a protest that followed a vigil for a Georgia Tech student who was fatally shot by campus police, a university spokesman said.
Police shot and killed Scout Schultz late Saturday night after the 21-year-old student called 911 to report an armed and possibly intoxicated suspicious person, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said.
Georgia Tech issued alerts urging students to shelter indoors Monday night because of violent protests. Video posted on social media showed a police vehicle burning in the street and officers pinning people to the ground as onlookers shouted at them.
After Monday’s peaceful vigil, about 50 protesters marched to the campus police department, university spokesman Lance Wallace said. A police vehicle was damaged and two officers suffered minor injuries, with one taken to a hospital for treatment. He said police restored order relatively quickly, and three people were arrested and charged with inciting a riot and battery of an officer.
In a statement released through attorney Chris Stewart, Schultz’s family urged protesters to remain peaceful.
“(W)e ask that those who wish to protest Scout’s death do so peacefully. Answering violence with violence is not the answer,” the statement said.
The GBI has said an officer responding to a 911 call about 11:17 p.m. Saturday shot Schultz as the student advanced on officers with a knife and refused commands to put down the knife. Stewart said Monday that the GBI confirmed to him that Schultz was holding a multipurpose tool and that the knife blade was not out.
Schultz was the one who called 911, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an emailed statement Monday.
“In the call, Shultz describes the person as a white male, with long blonde hair, white T-shirt and blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip,” Miles said, adding that three suicide notes were found in Schultz’s dorm room.