ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech Police officer who fatally shot a student on campus has been identified as Tyler Beck.
Beck, along with another Georgia Tech Police officer, responded to a 911 call about a person with a knife, and possibly a gun on campus, Saturday night.
“There looks like there's somebody, like skulking around outside—looks like he's got... he's got a knife in his hand. I think he might have a gun on his hip. Looks like he might be drunk or something,” 21-year-old Scout Schultz told the 911 operator on Sept. 16.
In the call, Schultz described the person lurking around as a white male with long, blonde hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Officers arrived on the scene and made contact with Schultz, who they said was armed with a knife.
Just before midnight, the officers said Schultz refused to comply with their commands. As Schultz continued to advance towards them, Beck fired one shot, striking Schultz, according to the GBI report.
Beck was sworn in with the university’s police department in May 2016, two months after starting the school’s police academy.
According to Georgia Tech Police’s Facebook page, Beck started as a public safety officer with the Community Outreach and Engagement (CORE) Unit, in the summer of 2015. He received the top driver award during the police academy’s week-long emergency vehicle operations course.
Schultz was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.
According to the GBI, three suicide notes were found in Schultz's dorm room. No gun was recovered, but a multipurpose tool with knife was found on the scene.
Schultz was a fourth-year computer engineering student and president of Georgia Tech's Pride Alliance. Schultz's parents have questioned the officer's use of lethal force and have hired attorney L. Chris Stewart to represent them.
