Georgia Tech students told to stay inside as protests turn violent after vigil for student killed by cops

Georgia Tech University police told students to stay inside their dorm rooms after violent protests broke out Monday following a vigil for a student killed by police.The university sent the alert about 10:11 p.m. Monday, warning students to avoid a part of campus where a police vehicle had been set on fire as approximately 50 individuals marched to the Georgia Tech Police Department. It’s undetermined who set the fire. Following the fire, most of the participants disbanded.”I was marching with them until they got in front of the police station and then all hell broke loose,” Chad Miller, a Tech alumnus told AJC.com. Miller was right behind the police car when it broke into flames.

The protests started after a vigil for 21-year-old Scout Schultz, who was shot and killed by university police Saturday night.According to CNN, Schultz had called police and was wielding a multi-purpose tool while barefoot and seemingly disoriented. It appeared Schultz was in the middle of a mental breakdown, according to police.Schultz ignored multiple warnings to put down the tool and took a few steps toward police, causing officers to open fire and kill the student.Three suicide notes were found in Shultz’s dorm room and no gun was found at the scene — only a knife in the multi-purpose tool, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.Additionally, Schultz’s family’s lawyer, L. Chris Stewart, said the blade was not out, raising questions regarding why non-lethal force wasn’t utilized.”It’s tragic that as Scout was battling mental health issues that pushed them to the edge of desperation, their life was taken with a bullet rather than saved with non-lethal force,” Stewart said in a statement.According to Schultz’s father and Stewart, he struggled with depression and previously attempted suicide and was stressed from school. He had spent the past summer at home.Schultz was a senior majoring in computer engineering and minoring in biomedical engineering. His father said he had received a full scholarship and had a 3.9 GPA.
The Schultz family requested for no violence to occur in response to their son’s death.

“We ask that those who wish to protest Scout’s death do so peacefully. Answering violence with violence is not the answer. Our goal is to work diligently to make positive change at Georgia Tech in an effort to ensure a safer campus for all students,” they said in a statement.”This is how we will truly honor Scout’s life and legacy.”

Two police officers received minor injuries and three people were arrested and charged with inciting a riot and battery of an officer.