‘Prank’ involving eggs, pellet guns lands 4 KSU students in jail

Four Kennesaw State University students are facing felony charges after police say a prank involving eggs and pellet guns escalated into an alleged assault at an off-campus apartment complex.

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The incident happened early Nov. 5 at West 22, a student apartment complex on Bensman Lane near Kennesaw State University.

Kennesaw police identified the four suspects as Cole Endriss, Chandler Buchanan, Olumuyiwa Awe and Marcus Campbell. All four are charged with felony aggravated assault.

Channel 2 Action News obtained cellphone video showing young people running around the apartment complex and throwing eggs during what participants described as a fraternity prank.

But a newly obtained police report reveals additional details about the allegations, including claims that people inside an SUV fired water-filled pellets at multiple people outside the apartment buildings.

Alleged victim says SUV returned multiple times.

According to the police report, officers responded to West 22 shortly before 1 a.m. after a man reported being shot with an airsoft-style gun.

The man told investigators he was clearing out the back seat of his pickup truck before taking friends to get food when an SUV pulled up behind his vehicle.

He said occupants rolled down the front and rear passenger windows and began shooting at him with pellet guns.

The man told police he was struck by pellets fired from four different guns.

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An officer reported seeing no visible marks on the man but documented a scratch on the rear windshield of his truck.

According to investigators, the man said the SUV left the area and returned approximately two more times.

He and other people at the complex recorded cellphone video of the vehicle, capturing its license plate.

Police also learned that people outside another apartment building reported being shot at with Orbeez-style guns. Those individuals told officers they threw eggs at the SUV after being targeted.

They declined to pursue charges or file reports.

Police say the driver admitted slowing down for passengers to shoot. Investigators used license plate readers to track the SUV as it traveled through Cobb County.

Police eventually located the vehicle at a RaceTrac gas station on Spring Road in Smyrna, where officers detained four men.

According to the police report, Endriss, who was driving the SUV, told investigators that people at the apartment complex had been participating in pranks involving eggs and Orbeez guns.

He initially told officers he did not know whether his passengers had fired the guns.

But investigators say Endriss later acknowledged that he believed the other occupants were shooting from the SUV’s windows.

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According to the report, Endriss admitted driving slowly so his passengers could fire the pellet guns.

Another suspect, Campbell, told investigators that the group had been driving past fraternities and shooting Orbeez pellets at people.

Police say Awe also described an ongoing “war” involving groups throwing eggs and firing pellet guns.

Investigators reported finding three Zuru X-Shot Orbeez guns and a bag full of pellets during a search of the SUV.

Endriss was charged with aggravated assault as a party to a crime. Buchanan, Awe and Campbell were each charged with aggravated assault.

Buchanan also faces a misdemeanor charge related to possession of tobacco products by someone younger than 21.

All four suspects have since been released from jail on bond.

Channel 2 Action News spoke with Kennesaw State sophomore Brayden Turner, who questioned whether the alleged conduct warranted felony charges.

“I think they are taking it a little too seriously,” Turner said.

Turner described the incident as a prank that he believed had gotten out of hand.

“Giving someone a felony over an Orbeez gun is kind of ridiculous,” Turner said.

However, the newly obtained police report indicates that at least one person involved did not consider the incident harmless. The man who reported being struck by the pellets told officers he wanted to pursue charges against those responsible, although he declined to press charges over the damage to his truck.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, Kennesaw State University confirmed that all four suspects are enrolled at the university.

“We can confirm that the individuals involved in this off-campus incident are Kennesaw State students,” a university spokesperson said. “The University takes allegations of this nature seriously and is following established student conduct procedures to investigate the matter and determine next steps.”

The university has not announced whether any disciplinary action will be taken against the students.

The criminal case remains separate from the university’s student conduct process.