The family of an ex-DeKalb football standout killed last summer on the campus of Savannah State University filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against the Board of Regents.
Christopher Jamal Starks, a Savannah State student who played high school football at Southwest DeKalb and Miller Grove, was shot in the student union during an altercation in August 2015, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. He died later at a local hospital. He was 22.
Starks’ family said they are doing what it takes to get justice for Starks.
“We do not want to see this happen to another family,” mother Sharron Starks told Channel 2 Action News. “The last nine months has been very hurting and painful to us to lose our oldest son. So we are just seeking justice for him.”
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Attorneys for the Starks alleged the Regents knew the university’s campus had multiple crime incidents and did nothing to prevent them – including the shooting death of Starks.
Shean Williams, attorney for the Cochran Law Firm, is representing the Starks. He said the university is “dangerous and unsafe” given the number of crimes on campus.
“The university had knowledge of the shooting,” Williams said, “and despite that knowledge, they didn’t have advanced security for the safety of Christopher Starks and other students.”
No security guards or university campus police were inside the Student Union or in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, Williams said.
Loretta Heyward, assistant vice president of marketing and communications at Savannah State, said the campus police department has 60 employees in the department, including 30 officers.
“This family wants their son back,” Williams said. “The main focus is to get justice for their son and to hold Savannah State and the Board of Regent responsible.”
According to crime statistics from campus police, more than 140 crimes occurred on the campus in 2015, including Starks’ murder.
Williams said during the past nine months the family hasn’t been told anything about the shooting by Savannah State administrators and what’s worse is that Stark’s killer hasn’t been arrested.
The Georgia Bureau Investigation is looking into the shooting, Channel 2 reported.
“I just wish that someone would come forward and tell us what happened,” Sharron Starks told Channel 2, “and help us so we can get some closure.”
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