Student with knife killed by varsity cop

Atlanta, Sept. 18: A Georgia tech police officer overreacted by firing a gunshot that killed a student who investigators say was armed with a knife and ignored commands to drop it, a lawyer for the family said.

Campus police killed Scout Schultz, 21, who they say was advancing on officers with a knife.

Schultz refused to put down the knife and kept moving toward officers on Saturday outside a dormitory, the Georgia bureau of investigation said in a statement.

“Officers provided multiple verbal commands and attempted to speak with Shultz who was not cooperative and would not comply with the officers’ commands,” the agency said in a statement.

“Shultz continued to advance on the officers with the knife.”

Attorney Chris Stewart told The Atlanta JournalConstitution that he thinks Schultz was having a mental breakdown and didn’t know what to do. Stewart and the student’s family plan a news conference on Monday morning. WSB-TV reported that the item involved, still on the ground when its news crew arrived, appeared to be a “metal, flip-open, multi-tool knife.”

Authorities haven’t identified the officer who shot him nor have they released the 911 call that led to the confrontation.

Preliminary information indicates that the initial 911 call reported a person with a knife and a gun about 11:17 pm on Saturday, the GBI said in a statement.

Video shows officers repeatedly asking Schultz to drop the knife, but the student continues advancing towards one of them, and is heard yelling, “Shoot me!” The officer is seen backing up.