{
  "id": "2024-01-24-kennesaw-state-university-carjacking-lockdown",
  "slug": "kennesaw-state-university-carjacking-lockdown-2024-01-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Kennesaw State University",
    "shortName": "KSU",
    "state": "GA",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "KSU Alert",
    "enrollment": 45000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-01-24",
    "type": "police-activity",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Carjacking suspects flee onto campus, prompting a two-hour lockdown; one arrested",
    "headlinePublic": "Carjacking suspects flee onto campus, prompting a two-hour lockdown; one arrested",
    "summary": "On the evening of Wednesday, January 24, 2024, [three men who had carjacked an Uber driver at gunpoint in DeKalb County](https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/3-carjacked-uber-driver-at-gunpoint-prompting-ksu-lockdown-warrant-says/7S5DJ5WXORDJDI2LFAMMAS4KMY/) drove the stolen Cadillac approximately 40 miles to a Waffle House across from the KSU Kennesaw campus and then fled on foot onto university grounds. KSU Police issued a KSU Alert at approximately 6:21 PM EST directing the campus community to [seek shelter in a secure location until further notice](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/24/armed-suspect-reported-near-kennesaw-state-school-officials-warn/). A 17-year-old suspect, Marquise Adams, was arrested after a brief foot chase; the other two suspects were not found despite an extensive search. The lockdown was lifted at approximately 8:15 PM EST.",
    "outcome": "One juvenile suspect (Marquise Adams, 17) arrested after foot chase. Two suspects at large; later identified as Giovanni Brown and an unidentified third. No shots fired on campus; no injuries. Lockdown lifted approximately 8:15 PM EST after roughly two hours.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-24T18:21:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "KSU Alert: Kennesaw Campus: Armed Intruder reported at Kennesaw State. Seek shelter in a secure location until further notice.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/armed-suspect-kennesaw-state-university/85-5a3086e6-3f2a-4c55-9d2e-9f76513f7a54",
      "sourceDescription": "11Alive and multiple Atlanta-area outlets quoting the KSU Alert push notification verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text quoted by 11Alive and confirmed in AJC, East Cobb News, and Atlanta News First coverage of the January 24, 2024 carjacking lockdown",
        "Issued at 6:21 PM EST on Wednesday, a high-foot-traffic evening hour with many students moving between classes, dining and the library",
        "The alert uses KSU's 'Armed Intruder' template wording even though the reported threat was three fleeing carjackers who had run onto campus from across Frey Road",
        "This wording is byte-identical to the KSU Alert sent during the separate May 18, 2024 residence-hall shooting (also in this archive), consistent with a pre-scripted armed-intruder template message; each incident carries its own independent news sourcing"
      ],
      "characterCount": 126
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 7:15 PM EST on January 24, 2024",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "KSU Emergency: Kennesaw Campus: Remain secured in place. Armed suspects reported on campus.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/1-person-custody-2-more-run-after-armed-suspect-lockdown-ksu/5NNERC76CRH4DGQNWEWYEX5AWA/?outputType=amp",
      "sourceDescription": "WSB-TV Channel 2 and multiple Atlanta-area outlets quoting the KSU Emergency update push notification verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text quoted by WSB-TV and confirmed in 11Alive and wsbradio.com coverage of the lockdown update",
        "Note the switch from 'KSU Alert' in the initial message to 'KSU Emergency' in the update, suggesting a different alert-level classification was applied",
        "The shelter-in-place remained active while two suspects were still outstanding"
      ],
      "characterCount": 91
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-24T20:15:00-05:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "KSU Alert: All clear has been issued for Kennesaw State University. Normal campus operations may resume.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-police-investigating-armed-suspect-near-kennesaw-state-campus/UQDQCGQXBVEQFO57HYLZKLJMS4/",
      "sourceDescription": "AJC and Atlanta News First quoting the KSU Alert all-clear push notification verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text quoted by AJC and confirmed in Atlanta News First coverage; all-clear issued just after 8:15 PM EST on January 24, 2024",
        "The terse all-clear ('Normal campus operations may resume') does not acknowledge that two suspects remained at large",
        "The roughly two-hour lockdown was substantially longer than the May 18, 2024 KSU shooting lockdown (about 36 minutes), making this January 2024 incident the longer of KSU's two 2024 lockdown events"
      ],
      "characterCount": 104
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the evening of Wednesday, January 24, 2024, three men who had [carjacked an Uber driver at gunpoint](https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/3-carjacked-uber-driver-at-gunpoint-prompting-ksu-lockdown-warrant-says/7S5DJ5WXORDJDI2LFAMMAS4KMY/) earlier in DeKalb County drove the stolen Cadillac approximately 40 miles north to a Waffle House across from Kennesaw State University's main Kennesaw campus on Frey Road. The three then [ran onto campus on foot](https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/1-person-custody-2-more-run-after-armed-suspect-lockdown-ksu/5NNERC76CRH4DGQNWEWYEX5AWA/?outputType=amp), prompting KSU Police to issue a KSU Alert at [approximately 6:21 PM EST](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/24/armed-suspect-reported-near-kennesaw-state-school-officials-warn/) directing students, faculty and staff to seek shelter in a secure location until further notice. KSU Police and Cobb County Police engaged in an extensive search of campus buildings, parking decks and surrounding wooded areas. After a brief foot chase, 17-year-old [Marquise Adams was taken into custody](https://eastcobbnews.com/kennesaw-state-issues-alert-for-armed-intruder-on-campus/), investigators initially identified him as the youngest of the three. The other two suspects could not be found despite hours of searching, and the [all-clear was issued just after 8:15 PM EST](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/25/all-clear-issued-after-armed-suspects-reported-kennesaw-state-campus/). No shots were fired on campus and no injuries were reported. The incident foreshadowed [the May 18, 2024 KSU lockdown after student Alasia Franklin was fatally shot on the same Kennesaw campus](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kennesaw-state-university-georgia-student-killed-rcna152971), the second KSU lockdown of 2024 in less than four months. The January incident is an example of how off-campus crime can spill onto campus footprints with no warning, forcing emergency notifications even when the institution itself was not the target.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The January 24, 2024 KSU lockdown illustrates the 'spillover' threat model: a crime that began 40 miles away in DeKalb County forced a two-hour lockdown of one of Georgia's largest public universities, with no warning before the suspects' arrival",
    "The all-clear ('Normal campus operations may resume') was declarative and did not reference the two suspects who remained at large, consistent with the terse KSU Alert messaging style",
    "Two KSU lockdowns in less than four months (January 24 carjacking, May 18 fatal shooting) made 2024 an unusually active year for emergency notifications on the Kennesaw campus, before the August 2025 swatting wave"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "'Armed suspects' reported on Kennesaw State campus (Atlanta News First)",
      "url": "https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/24/armed-suspect-reported-near-kennesaw-state-school-officials-warn/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Carjacking led to lockdown at Kennesaw State University (Atlanta News First)",
      "url": "https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/25/all-clear-issued-after-armed-suspects-reported-kennesaw-state-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "3 carjacked Uber driver at gunpoint, prompting KSU lockdown, warrant says (AJC)",
      "url": "https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/3-carjacked-uber-driver-at-gunpoint-prompting-ksu-lockdown-warrant-says/7S5DJ5WXORDJDI2LFAMMAS4KMY/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "3 suspects ran onto KSU campus after carjacking in DeKalb County (WSB-TV)",
      "url": "https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/1-person-custody-2-more-run-after-armed-suspect-lockdown-ksu/5NNERC76CRH4DGQNWEWYEX5AWA/?outputType=amp",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Teen arrested after carjacking, lockdown at KSU campus (East Cobb News)",
      "url": "https://eastcobbnews.com/kennesaw-state-issues-alert-for-armed-intruder-on-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Carjacking armed suspects Kennesaw State University (11Alive)",
      "url": "https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/armed-suspect-kennesaw-state-university/85-5a3086e6-3f2a-4c55-9d2e-9f76513f7a54",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "AJC and Atlanta News First quoting the KSU Alert all-clear push notification verbatim",
      "url": "https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/breaking-police-investigating-armed-suspect-near-kennesaw-state-campus/UQDQCGQXBVEQFO57HYLZKLJMS4/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "carjacking",
    "armed-suspect",
    "lockdown",
    "georgia",
    "public-r2",
    "off-campus-spillover",
    "kennesaw-state",
    "ksu-alert"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}