Last month, Spelman and Clark Atlanta University students were caught in the crossfire of a shooting when someone fired into a crowd of 200 people outside Clark’s library.
In all, four students, all female, were wounded after an argument broke out between two groups at a block party. The injured women were all expected to recover.
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The shooter got away in the chaos outside the library that is used by students from Clark Atlanta and other nearby HBCUs, and no arrests had been made, Atlanta police said. Police did release a video of a male suspect who authorities are still trying to identify.
The block party was celebrating the end of new student orientation.
“The gunshots began after an argument broke out between two parties and someone opened fire, investigators said. Video aired by WXIA-TV shows dozens of students running frantically after the gunshots,” ABC News reported.
“Initial investigation seems to indicate an argument broke out between two parties prior to the shooting,” Atlanta police public affairs director Carlos Campos said Wednesday morning in a statement. “It appears the women were not the intended targets of the shooting.”
Those injured were: Erin Ennis, 18, of Powder Springs, Georgia; Maia Williams-MClaren, 18, of Boston; Elyse Spencer, 18, of Rochester, New York; and Kia Thomas, 19. Their injuries ranged from graze wounds to gunshot wounds.
“We are asking our faculty to be aware and prepared to support those students experiencing the effects of this incident,” Clark Atlanta interim President Lucille Maugé said in a message to students.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement, “While the full force and resources of the Atlanta Police Department are in operation to assist in bringing those responsible to justice, we as a community will continue to work with the Atlanta University Center, and all of our colleges and universities, to take meaningful action to keep our campuses safe,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
