Clark Atlanta University is beefing up camous security after four women were shot at a block party in front of a university library.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the university’s public safety employees will start working 12-hour shifts to “enable us to provide 24-hour coverage on campus,” Interim President Lucille H. Maugé is telling students..
“We have heard you, and we will move forward to address your concerns and improve the safety and well-being of all CAU students,” she says.
Atlanta police have also committed to increase its presence in the campus area, Clark Atlanta police Chief Debra A. Williams says.
The heightened security measures come days after two Clark Atlanta students and two Spelman College students were hospitalized with injuries ranging from graze wounds to gunshot wounds during an incident at a party. The four women were hit when someone opened fire into a crowd of about 200 in front of the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center.
The party, hosted by a private company, was supposed to be a celebration of the end of new student orientation and the subsequent start of classes.
“Initial investigation seems to indicate an argument broke out between two parties prior to the shooting,” Atlanta police public affairs director Carlos Campos said. “It appears the women were not the intended targets of the shooting.”
Three victims were taken by ambulance from the scene, and the fourth showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound.
Three of the four women have been released from the hospital. The fourth student “successfully came through surgery and is recovering,” Mauge says.
No arrests have been made. However, police released surveillance video of the man they believe shot the students. Campos said the video shows the suspect wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweat pants, a tan Gucci hat and gray New Balance sneakers.
It is unknown if the shooter was a student at the Atlanta University Center, which includes Morehouse College, Spelman and Clark Atlanta.
Video from WXIA-TV: Atlanta pollice have release video of a person identified as a suspect in the shooting.
