The shooting death of a Georgia Tech student on May 18 was a “targeted act,” according to the Atlanta Police Department.
During a Wednesday press conference, APD said the student – identified as 22-year-old Akash Banerjee by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office – was shot in the head on the ninth floor of The Connector student apartments at 699 Spring St. in Midtown. He was transported to Grady Hospital, where he died on Tuesday.
“We’re at a point where we believe this was a targeted act,” APD Homicide Commander Andrew Smith said during the press conference.
APD released surveillance video showing a suspect walking down the ninth-floor hallway of the apartment building with what appears to be a gun in his pocket around 10 minutes before the shooting. Smith said the suspected shooter had been to the building previously looking for Banerjee.
Smith said Banerjee was shot in the ninth-floor hallway following an altercation with the suspect. The Connector has key card access, and Smith said it was unknown how the shooter gained access to the building.
Smith said investigators were still trying to determine the connection between the suspect and Banerjee, who had a “criminal history.” Smith declined to elaborate on Banerjee’s criminal record and if that might be what led to the shooting.
