Morehouse College student shot during robbery

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Morehouse College student was released from Grady Memorial Hospital Tuesday after being shot during an early morning robbery near the campus.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking home from the library at about 1:30 a.m. when he was shot in the arm, Atlanta police Sgt. J. Ludwig said.

Ludwig said the victim, who is in his mid-20s, told investigators the gunman, described as a short black male in his mid-20s wearing a green Army-type jacket and black skull cap "came out of nowhere on Lawton Street and told him to get down on the ground."

When the victim complied, the robber went through his pockets, taking his wallet, cell phone, iPod and laptop computer.

"The armed robber started walking away and the victim got up and jumped on the armed robber because he was so much smaller than him, trying to get his stuff back," Ludwig said. "A struggle ensued and the gun went off."

Ludwig said the bullet went through the victim's elbow. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and was released Tuesday morning, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said.

Investigators recovered a single 9mm shell casing from the scene, along with the victim's iPod.

Police had no vehicle description. "As far as we know, it was pedestrian-on-pedestrian," Ludwig said.

The robbery and shooting happened in the 300 block of Lawton Street, about three blocks west of the Morehouse campus.

Late Tuesday morning, Morehouse police Chief Vernon Worthy said he had met with the victim, who he called a "street-savey" senior about 24 years old from Chicago.

Worthy said the victim recounted his steps as he left the Robert W. Woodruff Library on James P. Brawley Drive, walked west on Sells Avenue, then turned south on Lawton headed to his apartment about three blocks south of I-20.

"He did the smartest things I can see," Worthy said. "He traveled through the interior of the campus, and when he got to this area, he stayed with the street lights. Unfortunately, there was a perp lying in wait and he couldn't avoid it."

He said the victim, whose name has not been released, was "in good spirits" and was resting at residence hall on campus late Tuesday morning.

Worthy said Morehouse police patrol several off-campus corridors heavily traveled by students, but Lawton Street is not an area covered by his officers.

"We've maximized our resources at this time, particularly on campus and those areas adjacent to campus," he said. Worthy said he welcomed news that Atlanta police planned to add late-night patrols near the Atlanta University Center and Georgia Tech campuses in areas that have been plagued by recent robberies.

"We are very appreciative to any efforts that the city brings," he said. "We work collaboratively with all the other AUC schools to make the areas adjacent to our properties as safe as we possibly can."