Georgia Tech Student Dead After Being Shot on Campus by Police
Campus police at Georgia Tech have shot and killed a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) student activist who was allegedly approaching an officer while holding a knife.
Scout Schultz, 21, was fatally shot by campus police late Saturday after the Georgia Tech student was confronted for carrying a knife inside the university. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Georgia Tech Police responded to a 911 call about a person holding a knife and a gun on the Atlanta campus at around 11:17 p.m. When they arrived, officers found Schultz holding a knife outside a dormitory.
A Georgia Tech student managed to capture the incident via cellphone video. During the confrontation, officers can be heard repeatedly telling Schultz to drop the knife. The student continued to approach one cop before being shot once and falling to the ground.
Reports note that the knife was discovered on the ground when reporters arrived at the crime scene. It appeared to be a multi-tool that was half-open, but none of the tools were extended. While there was a video footage of the incident, witness Aaron Thurston told the station, "He was yelling, like, 'Hey, shoot me!'" but that was not heard in the clip.
Thurston added, "He took a couple more steps forward — it wasn't a lunge; it was a couple more steps forward. And then the officer fired."
Speaking with New York Daily News , Schultz's mother Lynn described her child as "nonconformist and very, very bright," noting that Schultz had a "lot of empathy for other people."
Schultz was the president of Georgia Tech's Pride Alliance — a student organization for LGBT students and allies. Schultz was also a fourth-year computer engineering major with a minor in biomedical engineering.
