Scout Schultz, a 21-year-old fourth-year engineering student at Georgia Tech, and president of schools Pride Alliance was shot and killed on Saturday night by police after reusing to surrender a knife and telling officers to shoot.
The school identified the victim as Scout Schultz, 21, a fourth-year engineering student from Lilburn, Georgia, who police said was armed with a knife. Schultz, president of Georgia Tech’s Pride Alliance, identified as non-binary and intersex and preferred to be referred to with they/them gender pronouns, according to the alliance’s website.
Police made contact with Schultz outside a campus parking garage after they received a 911 call at 11:17 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The original call reported that Schultz was also carrying a gun, officials said.
“Nobody wants to hurt you,” an officer says in the video.
But as Schultz continued to ignore the officers’ commands and stepped forward with the knife, a single shot rang out, and Schultz’s screams could be heard.
The young engineering student died later at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Schultz’s parents said that Scout was diagnosed with depression at a young age and that their child’s mental health often wavered. They and others are calling into question the use of lethal force used by police.
Chris Stewart, a lawyer representing Schultz’s family, said that that photos from the scene show that Schultz had a 12-piece multitool at the time of the shooting but that the knife blade was not extended. Steward said that Schultz was being portrayed inaccurately as carrying a more dangerous weapon.
A video has been released of the disturbing incident. CLICK HERE to view. (WARNING: The video contains graphic content that may not be suitable for some people.)