Kennesaw State student shot and killed on campus, suspect detained

May 19th, 2024

Kennesaw State’s campus was shut down Saturday afternoon after a student was fatally shot.

Larry Felton Johnson / Cobb County Courier/Wikimedia Commons

Officials at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University say a student was killed in a weekend shooting outside a residence complex on campus, leading to a brief lockdown and the arrest of a man on a murder charge.

The campus was shut down for less than an hour after the 4 p.m. Saturday shooting. The name of the woman killed was not released in the university’s statement on Sunday.

The suspect was not a student, according to the university. He fled campus after the shooting, which followed a dispute outside Kennesaw’s Austin Residence Complex. He was arrested soon afterward. He faces charges of murder and felony assault. No bond had been set as of Sunday afternoon, according to Cobb County online booking records. His date of birth was listed as 2003.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is aiding local police with the case.

Student Robert Bowns told WSB-TV he was studying when he heard gunfire.

“All I heard was bop, bop, bop, seven or eight times,” said Bowns. “Five minutes later, I get a report from the campus that there was an armed intruder on campus.”

The university posted information on its psychological and counseling services for those needing them.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” University President Kathy S. Schwaig said in Sunday’s statement.