Paul Nkengasong, a student at Georgia State University, was on his way to a study session on October 10, when he was held at gunpoint and told to give up his belongings.
Nkengasong was one victim of the two cases of armed robberies that occurred that night. Earlier, the Georgia State University Police Department reported through a university broadcast that two students reported an attempted armed robbery.
“Eventually, he cocked the gun in my face and I just gave up what I had and just tried to make a run for it,” said Nkengasong.
Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta has released a wanted notice for the armed suspect, warning student they are armed and dangerous.
Joseph Spillane, the university’s Chief of Police, addressed students in a statement after the incidents.
“With these recent reports, the Police Department wants you to know we’re taking steps to ensure the continued safety of the university community,” the statement published on Instagram said.
In a statement to PRN, Spillane said the police department is adding, “More patrols, more resources on overtime, more bicycles, foot beat and motorcycles.”
The department is also monitoring campus in realtime through cameras.
Georgia State’s Student Government Association has also weighed in on the incidents. Hamza Rahman, the Executive Vice President, said they trust the work the police department is doing.
“We are confident in GSU security and GSU PD’s ability to counter these,” Rahman said. “They have begun to expand their security apparatus. They have made proposals that are under review by the administration and we will lobby. We will lobby for further safety. We will not standby and watch this happen to students.”
But despite the confidence, Nkengasong said more can still be done.
“All these reassurances are really vague. I’m not seeing visually or getting a hard number of what exactly they’re doing to try to reduce this from happening,” Nkengasong said.
Earlier this month, the university police department released its annual security report citing seven cases of robberies on the Atlanta campus within the 2018 year.
“For the future of Georgia State, I just want to see and end to all these robberies, like just to the frequent police reports,” Nkengasong said. “But at the end of the day it is a college campus, students are here to study. No one should have to fear for their lives ever. And I just want to see that changed.”
