On Wednesday night, members of Clark Atlanta University held a vigil honoring Jatonne Sterling who was shot and killed the previous day.
“Sterling touched so many lives here at Clark Atlanta University, so we just wanted to make sure that we paid respects to his family, paid respects to him,” CAU Undergraduate SGA President Ki’Andre Thomas said, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
“The amount of people that turned out tonight…just shows the amount of lives that he touched and even if he didn’t touch directly in some way he affected their lives and made them feel important,” Thomas added.
Sterling’s friends organized the vigil in his honor.
“I did not want the last memory of him to be that he was found on the street and we just have to live with that. I wanted his life to be celebrated,” vigil organizer Zyriah Gray said.
As reported by Fox 5 Atlanta, “Tuesday’s shooting at the Catholic student center is the second near the Clark Atlanta University campus this school year. Four people were injured when shots were fired at a gathering for CAU’s Homecoming in October. Now some students are on edge.”
“We need a better security, we need people to be on top of security. Our safety matters the most. We’re not paying the amount that we’re paying to not feel safe,” Gray said.
“I really want this to be the start of something that creates so much change in the community,” Gray added.
The university has reportedly said they have partnered with Fulton County Sheriff’s office, Atlanta Public Schools, and the public safety departments at the Atlanta University Center to increase patrols around the campus.