Kennesaw State shooting: Alasia Franklin discovered by friend

KENNESAW, Ga. - Anthony Harrison, a senior at Kennesaw State University, said he woke up to the sound of gunshots at the Austin Residence Complex on campus.

"And all I can remember is just walking out and being completely horrified of what that scene was," he told FOX 5 reporter Eric Mock.

Harrison said he had no idea the woman he was looking at as he called 911 was one of his dear friends, Alasia Franklin.

Alasia Franklin (Credit: Kennesaw State University Student Government Association)

"I couldn't even … I couldn't even recognize the way she looked," Harrison said, as he was brought to tears. "I couldn't recognize the way she looked, man. I stood right over her as I was on the phone. Like, that's something that's going to be with me for a long, long, long time."

Officers identified the suspected shooter as 21-year-old Samuel Harris. Details of what led up to the shooting have not yet been revealed, but Harris is facing multiple charges in Cobb County, including murder.

Samuel Harris (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office)

Harrison told FOX 5 that he serves as the Vice President of the Student Government Association at KSU. Franklin, he said, served with him.

"I interviewed her and, I mean, from the moment that we hopped on the Zoom call and talked, I mean, she had a bright and amazing personality," he remembered.

Franklin was also a member of KSU's chapter of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and founded the school's Integrated Health Science Club.

"She was super involved on campus, and I know that everybody that knew her knew that she was just such a positive and outgoing person," Harrison said. "She was just very passionate and driven all around, but it just … it just hurts to see her in the state that she was in. I mean, it's just a lot."

Harrison hoped this would serve as a wake-up call to university leaders.

Anthony Harrison, moved to tears as he explained the moment he found Alasia Franklin, the Kennesaw State University student killed in a campus shooting on May 18, 2024.

"I think that this is a very, very, very strong indication that campus security needs to be increased," he said. "We need more cameras. We need to have security gates around student housing to make sure that only students are allowed in student housing."

RELATED NEWS: 21-year-old man killed in shooting in Kennesaw neighborhood, 2 arrested

FOX 5 Atlanta reached out to KSU officials about their thoughts on increasing safety on campus, but we have not heard back.

On top of a murder charge, Harris also faces aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a crime.