Man runs outside to help KSU student shot on campus, realizes he knows the victim

KENNESAW, Ga. — Friends and family are sharing more information about the Kennesaw State University student murdered on campus over the weekend.

KSU confirmed Alasia Franklin, 21, died after police say Samuel Harris shot and killed her on Campus Loop Rd. near the Austin Residence complex Saturday around 4 p.m.

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Anthony Harrison ran to help after hearing the gunshots outside his apartment.

“I walk over and I see a body laying down and I get on the phone with police you know that was my first instinct,” Harrison told Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco.

He then realized the victim was someone he knew and served on KSU’s Student Government Association with in the past.

“She’s decorated,” said Harrison. “She was [a] founder of [the] IHS Club, one of the founders. On top of that, she was part of the NCNW organization here on campus.”

Harrison said she was on the homecoming court in 2023.

“She showed nothing but a positive and amazing attitude, always outgoing and very easy to talk to,” Harrison said.

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Franklin’s former roommate and close friend, Taliyah Sims, told Channel 2 Action News that the 21-year-old was slated to graduate early in December and had plans to become a nurse practitioner.

“I am so proud to be able to say that I knew somebody like her. She was just a very big part of my life,” Sims said. “I will never forget the mark that she made on me. It was a blessing to even get to know her.”

Friends said Franklin was from Cairo, Ga. Jail records show her suspected shooter, Harris, is also from Cairo.

His age was uncertain Sunday because the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office did not list his month of birth on the inmate records, but records show he was born in 2003.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said one of their agents arrested him minutes after the shooting on Saturday near a Marietta apartment complex on Bentley Road.

“Her brothers and sisters and parents, she talked about them all the time,” Sims said. “They were all really close. She was a great friend. She showed up for anybody in her life.”

Harrison said KSU will feel the loss and asked for Channel 2 to share this message with her family.

“I can’t express how sorry I am that you guys lost her. I wish I could have done more to help,” Harrison said.

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