Georgia Tech Student Killed: 'Scout Should Not Have Been Shot'

ATLANTA, GA — Days after a Georgia Tech student was shot to death by a police officer, friends and family of Scout Schultz are asking why non-lethal force wasn't used. The death of Schultz, an active member of the LGBTQ community, has hit the campus hard and an attorney for the victim's family said that it plans to file a civil suit against the university, according to news reports.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has opened an independent investigation of the shooting and will hand the results over to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. (Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Monday that it has been determined that it was Schultz who made the 911 call about a "suspicious" person on campus.

"In the call, Shultz describes the person as a white male, with long blonde hair, white T-shirt and blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip," Miles said.

Three suicide notes were found in Shultz’s dormitory room, she said. Also, a multi-purpose tool "that contained a knife" was recovered from the scene. Miles said that no firearms were found at the scene.

A vigil is planned for 8 p.m. Monday at the Georgia Tech Campanile to commemorate the life of Schultz, an engineering major from Lilburn. Schultz was killed Saturday before midnight at 532 Eighth Street N.W. Atlanta, outside a Tech dormitory, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.

Read more: Knife-wielding Georgia Tech student shot to death on campus

At a news conference Monday morning, an attorney for Schultz's family said that the student was wielding the multi-purpose tool — not a knife.

L. Chris Stewart told reporters that "Scout should not have been shot," according to WAGA-TV. Stewart said the family intended to file a civil suit against the university, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The victim's father was even more direct, asking, "Why did you shoot my son?" He added, "Frankly, I'm surprised the officers didn't know Scout."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said that campus police officers should get additional training in light of the shooting. “This tragedy on a university campus creates a crisis of trust for Georgia families,” Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement to Patch. “It is essential that universities require crisis intervention training for their police.”

As the high-profile shooting continues to reverberate around campus and nationally, a clearer picture of Schultz has emerged. Here are 5 things about Scout Schultz.

Schultz's mother told local media that the 21-year-old suffered from depression and attempted suicide two years ago. Still, she said, Scout should be alive today. “Why didn’t they use some nonlethal force, like pepper spray or Tasers?” Lynne Schultz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Stewart told the newspaper that he believes Schultz "was having a mental breakdown and didn’t know what to do." But he said regardless of the victim's mental state, no one was really in harm's way. "The area was secured. There was no one around at risk.”

A cellphone video of the incident posted online shows officers yelling, "Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" several times before firing.

Schultz was a member of the GT Progressive Student Alliance and the president of the Pride Alliance on campus.

"We are distraught over the loss of Scout Schultz," the organization said in a statement posted to Facebook. "They were an incredible, inspirational member of our community and a constant fighter for human rights. Please join us in celebrating and honoring their life and the contributions they made to campus and the greater Atlanta community."

"As you might have heard, last night we lost our President, Scout Schultz," the Pride Alliance said in a statement posted to Facebook. "We are all deeply saddened by what has occurred. They have been the driving force behind Pride Alliance for the past two years."

Image via GT Progressive Student Alliance