WATCH: College Student Shot and Killed by Police

A Georgia Tech student was shot and killed by campus police after authorities say the student refused to put down a knife.

Scout Schultz, 21, continued to advance on officers with the Georgia Tech Police Department outside a dormitory just after midnight Sunday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Police had responded to a 911 call of “a person with a knife and a gun,” the GBI said.

Officers said they repeatedly tried to talk to Schultz, but the fourth-year engineering major was described as uncooperative, the GBI said.

As Schultz continued to advance, one officer fired.

Schultz was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, and later died.

No officer was injured during the incident.

Video taken of the shooting shows officers repeatedly telling Schultz to drop the weapon as they advance.

“Come on man, let’s drop the knife,” an officer with his gun drawn tells Schultz.

“Shoot me!” the student replies.

The officer backs up, moving behind a parking barricade as he says, “Nobody wants to hurt you, man.”

They continue their exchange before Schultz takes three more steps toward an officer and gunfire erupts.

The GBI announced it has launched an independent investigation into the shooting.

Schultz was the president of the Pride Alliance group on campus. Schultz self-identified as non-binary, meaning neither female nor male, and used the pronoun “they” to refer to themself.

 “We are all deeply saddened by what has occurred. They have been the driving force behind Pride Alliance for the past two years,” the Pride Alliance said in a statement. “Their leadership allowed us to create change across campus and in the Atlanta community. Scout always reminded us to think critically about the intersection of identities and how a multitude of factors play into one's experience on Tech's campus and beyond. We love you Scout and we will continue to push for change.”

Schultz's family has hired an attorney, claiming police failed to use non-lethal force to resolve the encounter, WGCL-TV reported.

Citing the state investigation into the actions of its officers, Georgia Tech declined to comment on the incident to The Washington Post, but a spokesman told the paper it was a “tragic death.”

A vigil for Schultz is planned for Monday evening.


Source: Insideedition