Scout Schultz, Georgia Tech LGBTQ Student Shot Dead By Campus Police

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has been investigating the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Georgia Tech student, involved in LGBTQ activism by campus police late Saturday night after they said the student refused to put down a knife and was confronted about it.

According to the GBI, Georgia Tech Police officers were said to have been responding to a 911 call regarding a person with a knife and a gun on the downtown Atlanta campus around 11:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday night. The GBI said when the officers reached the campus, they found Scout Schultz, 21, 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 and at least two police officers pointing their guns towards Schultz, who is seen walking toward them.

"Officers provided multiple verbal commands and attempted to speak with Schultz who was not cooperative and would not comply with the officers’ commands. Schultz continued to advance on the officers with the knife. Subsequently, one officer fired striking Schultz," the GBI statement said.

Georgia Tech said Schultz was a fourth-year computer engineering major, residing in 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."

The Pride Alliance released an emotional statement on its website on Sept. 17, saying "they have been the driving force behind Pride Alliance for the past two years."

"Scout always reminded us to think critically about the intersection of identities and how a multitude of factors play into one’s experience on Tech’s campus and beyond. We love you Scout and we will continue to push for change," their statement added.

Schultz was pronounced dead early Sunday morning after being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The 911 call to the police also mentioned that the man with a knife also had a gun, however, it has not been clear yet if investigators ever found a gun on Schultz.

In the cellphone video, Schultz is asked to drop the weapon by the officers. "Come on, man, drop the knife," one officer says in the video. "Come on, let's drop it," another officer adds. Schultz is then seen walking toward them slowly and shouts, "Shoot me!"

"No, drop the knife," the first officer is heard saying. The officers repeatedly tell Schultz to drop the knife and one says, "Nobody wants to hurt you." Another says, "What's going on, man?"

More officers' voices are heard in the video asking for the weapon to be dropped, but then Schultz is seen pausing for a moment and then taking steps forward toward the officers before being shot and falling to the ground.

Warning: The following video contains images that some viewers may find upsetting.

The Pride Alliance has planned a vigil to be held in Schultz’s name at the Campus on Monday night.