Cops Release LSU Murder Suspect Sketches
The two doctoral candidates may have been targeted in a crime of opportunity.
Dec. 17, 2007— -- Police in Baton Rouge, La., have released sketches of two men they are seeking in connection with the shooting deaths of two Louisiana State University doctoral students last week.
One of the two suspects was believed to be the driver of an older model, light-colored Oldsmobile Alero seen near the campus crime scene, according to Sgt. Don Kelly, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Investigators believe that one or two additional suspects may have been involved in the double homicide last Thursday that claimed the lives of Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma, 31, and Kiran Kumar Allam, 33. Both men were married Indian students working on doctoral degrees -- Komma in biology and Allam in chemistry.
The men in the police sketches were observed at the apartment complex, which houses almost exclusively international students, at 9 p.m. on the night of the shooting, according to police. The first 911 call about the shooting came in at 10:37 p.m.
So far, the investigation indicates that the suspects had been scouting student targets for a possible robbery at the LSU apartment building, police said Monday. "The suspects may have observed Komma arrive at the complex to visit his friend Allam," according to a press release, "and may have followed Komma into Allam's apartment."
The homicides occurred inside Allam's apartment during what authorities believe was a targeted home invasion. Each man was shot in the head with a single bullet, LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe said Friday. One man was bound, while the other was found dead near the door to the apartment.
A car driven by one of the suspects was seen leaving the complex with its headlights turned off, authorities said.
O'Keefe met over the weekend with Indian officials to discuss the crime and ensure that the spouses and family members of the slain men will receive as much assistance as necessary from the school officials. They will also try to expedite the process of transporting the student remains back to India.
A foundation called the Komma and Allam Support Fund was established over the weekend, the proceeds of which will be split between the families of the two victims.
LSU officials also announced that they have resolved a problem with their emergency text messaging system that prevented some in the community from receiving word Thursday night of the campus shootings.
University officials sent out e-mail and voice mail blasts overnight warning students to use extra caution on campus after the apparent double homicide, but the emergency text-message response system, which was supposed to send messages by text to about 8,400 members of the community who signed up for the public safety service, did not reach all of the intended recipients.
LSU was one of the many colleges that implemented the emergency text-message notification systems after the massacre in April at Virginia Tech.