On Monday police identified the student as DeAndre Ballard, 23.
Officers responded to a call about a gunshot wound at 10:15 p.m. Sept. 17 in the 1400 block of East Cornwallis Road. They found Ballard, who was taken to a local hospital where he died.
“The case remains under investigation,” police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said Monday. “No charges have been filed at this time.”
In an interview, Kevin Ladd, vice president of the N.C. Detective Agency, said an employee working as a guard at Campus Crossings apartments shot Ballard in self-defense.
“We fully, 100 percent stand by his actions because this was self-defense,” Ladd said. “In our eyes this is a tragic accident. It never should have gotten to this, but our officer was fearful for his life.”
WRAL first reported that Ballard was shot by a security guard.
The shooting occurred in a public area at the apartment complex, he said, and there is one witness who is also a security guard, Ladd said. The security guard and witness are black, Ladd said.
A statement on NCCU’s website said the shooting occurred near Ballard’s off-campus apartment. The guard involved in the shooting was placed on administrative leave for a week, but returned to work at a different site on Monday, Ladd said.
The N.C. Detective Agency has been in business since 1996.
The employee has worked for the agency for 15 years and is certified by the N.C. Private Protective Security Board, Ladd said.
“We have never had anything like this, “ Ladd said. “We feel terrible about it. Our officer feels terrible.”
DeAndre Ballard was a “happy-go-lucky person,” she said. He made As and Bs in school and had never been in any kind of major trouble.
“He was very spiritual,” she said. “He loved God. He loved his friends, and he loved his family.”
Jalen Cooley, 24, a friend of DeAndre Ballard and an NCCU graduate student, said he dropped Ballard off and watched him walk into his apartment around 10 p.m. Sept. 17. They had watched a football game, and DeAndre had said he was tired and ready to go home.
