KSU students find racial slur spray painted across hall of off-campus apartment complex

MARIETTA, Ga. - Kennessaw State University students at an off-campus apartment complex in Cobb County say they discovered a racial slur spray-painted on the wall of their building Wednesday morning. Now, the complex and Cobb County police are investigating.

Several students say when they stepped out of their apartments the first thing they saw was the N-word written in big letters across a wall on the third-floor hallway of The Indy apartments.

"What does this image represent for the Indy as an entity?" Senior Bhavin Patel said.

It’s the question he and other students asked after finding the racial slur boldly painted along the third-floor hallway of their building.

"Within our community here at the Indy, this had residents very mad, angry, disappointed and quite shocked," Patel explained.

Officials with the apartment complex sent an email Wednesday afternoon notifying residents of the vandalism. They say it has since been painted over but students like Kamryn Taylor and A’Nia Sims said the image is still etched in their minds.

"When I first saw the picture, it made me feel as if we’re not in a safe environment," Sims stated. "For some of the upper management that works at the Indy, would you want your children living here? Would you be okay with them seeing this image on the wall?" Taylor added.

She and other students said the vandalism is part of a larger issue and a long overdue promise from the apartment complex to install more security cameras around the buildings.

"It’s just a lack of accountability and transparency that needs to change," Taylor said.

The Indy Apartment Complex shared the following statement in response:

"Today, we found hate speech graffiti within a hallway which has since been repaired.  This discovery does not represent the Indy nor the premium residential experience that we strive to create.

"We consider this crime inexcusable.

"Immediately, courtesy patrol will be making more frequent rounds, a police report has been filed with an investigation pending, and residents with any knowledge of the incident are encouraged to speak up.  Our community of students is our top priority, and we are committed to cooperating with authorities to prevent this from happening again."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department.