STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV) — The video above shows the scene around 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Cottage Row Apartments near the Georgia South University campus. A gun allegedly displayed in the pool area caused a stampede and a broken gate.
But as to whether shots were actually fired — police say there are conflicting reports — and no evidence to suggest it was — officers say the gun likely fell out of someone’s pocket.
“Anytime anyone sees something like this, a firearm falling out of someone’s clothing, it’s concerning and I’m sure they don’t know what’s going on with the situation and the best thing to do is get away from it and go away,” said Capt. Jared Aikens of the Statesboro Police Department.
Cottage Row Apartments declined to speak to News 3 — but property managers sent this message to residents — that they are aware of the incident and will increase security throughout the day. Some Georgia Southern students now say they’ve grown accustomed to reports of crimes happening around campus.
“I’m not really surprised. It happens all the time, but it’s really scary because you never expect something like this to happen anyway,” freshman Graysen Neville said.
Shots were fired outside the Blue Room bar – 2 miles from Cottage Row – last Saturday. But Captain Aikens says it’s not part of a trend.
“We investigate these things as they come in. I don’t know if there is any reason for this. Sometimes we see a group of them, but they are completely unrelated to each other and have no discernible pattern.’