A Clark Atlanta University student reported being strangled by a Morehouse College student in a video posted Friday on TikTok. Presidents of both HBCUs have condemned the incident and stated that law enforcement is currently investigating the case.
The altercation at Morehouse was recorded and posted on social media
On Friday, Clark Atlanta University junior Kayla Bryant recounted the incident in a video posted on TikTok and included footage of the attack. She was riding the shuttle to The Legacy at Centennial Apartments when a couple got on board. She switched seats after they started showing public affection, Bryant said, according to Morehouse College’s student news outlet The Maroon Tiger.
The man stepped on her foot as she prepared to get off the shuttle. She identified him as being a student at Morehouse College.
“He steps on me and I say, ‘Excuse me, can you apologize?’” Bryant shared. “And he didn’t say anything. As I’m walking off the shuttle, his girlfriend is standing there….”
The woman then confronted her and started putting her hands in Bryant’s face.
“Is there a problem?” the woman said before turning to her partner and adding, “You got it, bae?”
The man then placed Bryant in a chokehold: “He picks me up off of the ground and starts strangling me. I couldn’t breathe, and I was kicking off the walls to gain balance,” Bryant said. “He was telling me he was going to kill me.”
In a second video posted on TikTok, Bryant shared an update after reportedly visiting a hospital.
“A stranger tried to take my life today, but God gave me two hands and feet so that’s cool,” she wrote, according to The Grio.
Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College have publicly condemned the incident
Shortly after footage of the incident started circulating online, Morehouse College addressed the incident. Shortly after footage of the incident started circulating online, Morehouse College addressed the incident. The Atlanta Police Department reportedly launched an investigation.
“We want to state unequivocally that the behavior shown is disappointing and completely inconsistent with Morehouse’s mission, values, and expectations of its community members,” the university said in a statement. “Our highest priority remains to be the safety and well-being of all students, and we are committed to ensuring accountability for all parties found responsible for conduct violations. We do not take lightly the impact that incidents like this can have on the broader community, and we appreciate those who elevated their concerns.”
Morehouse College president F. DuBois Bowman followed up with a personal statement regarding the incident. He reiterated that a police investigation is currently underway and added that sharing updates and details regarding the students involved is limited due to federal student privacy regulations.
“Morehouse Men are expected to embody the values of compassion and moral discipline,” Bowman wrote. “As a father of four, including two daughters, and as a president leading an institution that uniquely develops Black men, it is even more imperative that we all maintain an unwavering commitment to upholding these core principles.”
Clark Atlanta University president George T. French Jr. also condemned the incident and emphasized the importance of “safety and wellbeing of our students.”
“As a father, this disgusting display of violence against a young woman is unacceptable and has no place in our community,” he wrote in a statement via Instagram. “We want to be clear: violence as a whole within our society is antithetical and disruptive to our culture. Moreover, violence of any kind, particularly against women, is intolerable, unacceptable, and has no place on our campuses.”