By AFRO Staff

Atlanta police have released a video <https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/video-shows-suspect-in-quadruple-shooting-on-clark-atlanta-university-campus/85-b98cc91f-66a4-47bb-b9e0-d3657108fb6a> of the prime suspect in a shooting Aug. 21 at Clark Atlanta University that left four students wounded.

The man depicted in the footage wore a white t-shirt, gray sweat pants, a tan Gucci hat, and gray New Balance sneakers.

Erin Ennis, 18, of Powder Springs, Ga.; Maia Williams-McLaren, 18, of Boston; Elyse Spencer, 18, of Rochester, N.Y.; and Kia Thomas, 19, of Jonesboro, Ga., sustained the injuries when shooting erupted mong a crowd of about 200 gathered at a pre-semester block party in front  the university’s library.

“Everything was OK and commotion from my understanding until I heard the gun shots,” CAU student Derrick Daniels told the AFRO. He further recalled, “Everyone scattered and I located my friends so we could leave. While attempting to find my friends I saw a young lady had been shot. My heart poured out for her and I knew I had to do something so I took off my shirt and compressed her leg with my shirt.”

Other students recalled similar confusion since they didn’t see or hear any altercation before the outbreak. But authorities reported otherwise.

“Initial investigation seems to indicate an argument broke out between two parties prior to the shooting,” Atlanta police public affairs director Carlos Campos said in a statement. 

Even those students who escaped physical harm have no remained unscathed, with several recalling feelings of fear an helplessness.

“The shooting last night on CAU’s campus was unnecessary and hard to process from my point of view,” said Josiah Kinsey, CAU graduate student from Florida.

Morgan Peck, of Baltimore County, Md., was on her way to the party when she got the call about the shooting. “Not only was it terrifying that somebody was shooting, but also that my close friends were out there with little to no protection because it caught everybody off guard,” she said.

Dejah Crooke, a CAU sophomore, also from Baltimore County, Md., had a similarly close call. 

“I was not present at the shooting but I planned to attend with some of my friends. We literally dodged the bullets by 10-15 minutes,” she said.  

Meanwhile, CAU officials said they are instituting measures to address students’ security concerns.

The university’s public safety employees will start working 12-hour shifts to “enable us to provide 24-hour coverage on campus,” Interim President Lucille H. Maugé said in a message to the campus community on aug. 22. <http://www.cau.edu/news/2019/08/priority-cau-update.html>

The Atlanta Police Department also plans to increase police presence on the HBCU campus.