Atlanta
(2009-10-13)
null
The incident is one of many that has influenced the city to beef up patrols on college campuses.
WABE's Charles Edwards reports
The student was studying at Robert W. Woodruff Library. Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington says the student was walking back to his off campus residence.
PENNINGTON: "A suspect approached him, produced a handgun and demanded his bookbag, his wallet, his cellphone, his Ipod and also told him to take off his shoes."
After he was robbed, Pennington says the student chased the suspect.
PENNINGTON: "and the suspect fired 1 shot from a 9 millimeter weapon striking the student in the arm."
Pennington is not surprised the crime, which is still under investigation, happened after midnight.
PENNINGTON: "Most of these incidents that have occurred on these college campuses have occurred late at night. They're not 6pm in the evening, 7pm in the evening."
That's why starting today more officers will be on some college campuses from 6 at night to 3 in the morning. Pennington is sending 4 extra officers to patrol Morehouse and other Atlanta University Center schools. Another 4 officers are going to Georgia Tech were crimes have also occurred. In addition, undercover officers will patrol both areas. APD assistant police chief Alan Dreher is in charge of the effort.
DREHER: "We're going to start tonight and we're going to run it for 30 days, we're going to evaluate it every night."
Mayor Shirley Franklin says Atlanta has the money to pay these officers. Franklin sought to silence critics who say the move will takes cops away from other parts of the city.
FRANKLIN: "This is a strategy that we're announcing. It is not the only strategy and it is also a strategy that gets modified and changed."
Franklin says changes will be based on weekly crime statistics. Those numbers will also be regularly posted on the city's website.
Charles Edwards, WABE News. © Copyright 2009, WABE
