Georgia Tech Protests Against Police Shooting Of Scout Schultz Turn Violent

Protests erupted late Monday on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology as a result of anger over the police shooting of a Pride Alliance leader, Scout Schultz, at the institute on Saturday night. A vigil was being conducted on the campus and it turned violent as protesters set a police car ablaze.

Three people were arrested and charged with inciting riot and battery of an officer. Two police officers had minor injuries and one of them was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, a university spokesman told Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The three suspects were identified as Vincent Castillenti, Jacob Wilson, and Cassandra Monden by the police, however, it was not clear if they are students at the university.

The parents of Schultz, earlier on Monday questioned the deadly shooting and released a statement later, on Monday night asking for peace.

“We ask that those who wish to protest Scout's death do so peacefully,” their statement said.

The evening began with a peaceful vigil to remember the deceased student, who was an engineering student from Lilburn, Georgia. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has been investigating the case after the shooting incident on Saturday night. However, around 50 students left the vigil and began to march toward the Tech police headquarters at Hemphill Avenue and Ferst Drive on Monday.

At 9:28 p.m. EDT, Georgia Tech tweeted asking students to take “shelter in a secure location” due to “violent protests on campus.” Officers from the Atlanta Police and nearby Georgia State University were also called for help in order to assist Georgia Tech police.

Schultz’s parents have questioned as to why the police abstained from using a non-lethal force. The GBI said Monday that Schultz had left behind three suicide notes and called 911, CNN reported.

“Why did you have to shoot?” Scout’s father, Bill Schultz asked at a news conference Monday. “That’s the only question that matters right now.”

Georgia Tech said Schultz was a fourth-year computer engineering major from the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn. Said to have a minor in biomedical engineering, Schultz also planned to work on medical devices, according to a profile on the Georgia Tech Pride Alliance website where Schultz was the president. "I’m bisexual, nonbinary, and intersex," the profile said, adding "they" or "them" are the appropriate ways to address Schultz instead of he or she. "When I’m not running Pride or doing classwork I mostly play (Dungeons and Dragons) and try to be politically active."

According to the GBI, on Saturday night Georgia Tech Police officers were responding to a 911 call regarding a person with a knife and a gun at the downtown Atlanta campus around 11:17 p.m. EDT. The GBI said when the officers reached the campus, they found Schultz, outside a dormitory wielding a knife. A cellphone video of the confrontation was captured by a student from his dorm room, which showed the officers and Schultz in a brightly-lit entrance to a parking garage. At least two police officers were seen pointing their guns towards Schultz, who was seen walking toward them.

Schultz was then shot and killed as the knife was not put down, police said.