Tow truck driver shot near Georgia Gwinnett College prompts temporary soft lockdown
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A lockdown has been lifted at a metro Atlanta college after a shooting near one of the campus' facilities.
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), which is located on the 1000 block of University Center Lane in Lawrenceville, announced the lockdown on Twitter at around 5:30 Tuesday morning. The campus remained on soft lockdown for more than an hour after the announcement before it was given the "all clear" around 7.
"A soft lockdown means they shelter in place, but they're allowed to move around inside the building," said GGC Campus Police Chief Terrance Schneider.
Officials say that the lockdown was due to a shooting on Charter Club Drive in front of the college's tennis facility, which is located about a mile from the main campus.
SKYFOX 5 saw multiple police vehicles around a number of tennis courts near the college.
School officials asked students to find a safe area or remain in a building on campus.
Officials told FOX 5 that police gave the "all clear" while they continued their investigation into the alleged shooting.
"We didn't know at that time the direction of travel the suspects had taken," Schneider told FOX 5. "We think he drove by we do have a Flock system which reads license plates and gets a quick photo of the vehicle, and we use that information from our systems. We provide that to the Lawrenceville police."
It was later reported by the Lawrenceville Police Department that a 35-year-old man driving a tow truck was shot in the area. Police day he was shot at least once but was able to run away from the scene. He was picked up by a relative and transported to a local hospital. He is currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is not associated with the college.
Anyone who might have witnessed this incident or who may have any other information is asked to contact Lawrenceville Police Detective Sergeant Pauly at 770-670-5110 or by emailing her at DPauly@LawrencevillePD.com