Listening session, town hall announced after 2 GSU students shot over the weekend
ATLANTA - Four people were shot early Sunday morning near the campus of Georgia State University.
It happened at around 5 a.m. near Piedmont Avenue and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue.
Zion Njie was asleep early Sunday morning when she heard a commotion just outside her window.
"I went out to my common area, which faces the RaceTrac, and so, I saw all the cars everybody running it was just like a lot of commotion," Njie said. "I woke up at 6 a.m. and I got a GSU alert saying there was a shooting and my mom called me."
It appears there was an altercation between two groups prior to the shooting. Police say the four people, three females and one male, who were shot were bystanders.
Two of the people who were shot are students at GSU and may have lived in campus housing, according to police.
Three of the victims are stable and the other victim, a female, is in critical condition, police said. GSU says the two students are fine and are expected to recover.
"Personally since it was so close I didn't feel safe. I was sleep like you're sleeping you don't know there's a shooting up the street that's crazy," Njie said.
This is at least the third shooting in the same area within a year. Two people were injured when shots were fired following street racing in the area back in April. And a GSU student was shot and killed at the RaceTrac in December of last year.
Still, some students who spoke with FOX 5’s Kim Leoffler they do feel safe around campus.
"It doesn't happen just here it happens everywhere. It's a very rare occurrence. It's just a wild situation," said freshman Nasir O'Daniel.
Others want more done.
"It would be nice to have more patrolling, I mean even right now, there's probably one cop over there," said Njie.
No one has been arrested at this time.
Georgia State University President M. Brian Blake wrote an open letter to the Panther community reading:
"We were deeply saddened to learn early Sunday, Oct. 29 of a shooting near campus that impacted two Georgia State students. I communicated with the Mayor in addition to our campus leadership, and we are working closely with the Atlanta Police Department (APD) as they conduct their investigation. We are taking immediate action to ensure the safety of all our community by increasing patrols in the area. The safety of the Georgia State community is my top priority and we will continue to work with the APD to identify ways to make areas surrounding our campus more secure.
"Four people, two of them students, were shot at John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Courtland Street around 5 a.m. after a nearby altercation occurred involving non-GSU individuals who exchanged gunfire. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and their families. We will continue to provide updates from the police as we receive additional information.
"Counseling services are available 24/7 by calling 404-413-1640 and Student Victim Assistance provides additional resources for students impacted by crime."
The school later announced that a listening session will be held at 9 a.m. Monday on the first floor of Piedmont Central in the multipurpose room. Additionally, there will be a campus-wide town hall at 4 p.m. Monday in the Centennial Hall Auditorium to go over the operations and safety improvements that GSU has made in recent months and to hear from the community.