As the investigation continued into a double shooting on campus, the Georgia State University president announced the search would begin for a new police chief.
“We are beginning the search for an experienced law enforcement professional whose sole focus will be campus safety,” GSU President Mark Becker said in a campus-wide email Tuesday afternoon.
The move came the day after two people, including one Georgia State student, exchanged gunfire in a dormitory parking lot during a suspected drug deal. Both were recovering from gunshot wounds Tuesday at Grady Memorial Hospital, and both have been charged, police said Tuesday.
A series of crimes on campus and nearby in recent months, including robberies at the library and a shooting outside a Forsyth Street restaurant, had already made safety a priority for students and employees.
In addition to finding a new police chief, Becker said the university would immediately change the process for sending emergency alerts to the campus community.
“Many students and parents expressed concern they first heard about the incident on the news rather than from their own university,” Becker said. “I am disappointed we did not promptly and effectively communicate what was happening last night as information became available.”
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