An arrest was made in connection with the homicide that occurred in an off-campus student housing complex near Kennesaw State University on the weekend of October 6.

According to a public information release from Officer Sydney Melton of the Cobb County Police Department:

On October 6, 2019, the Cobb County Police Department Crimes Against Persons Unit obtained an arrest warrant (19-W-10280) from the Cobb County Magistrate’s Office for the suspect, 22-year-old Kashman Thomas. The arrest warrant charged Mr. Thomas with Felony Murder, 3 counts of Aggravated Assault, and 2 counts of Aggravated Battery.

On October 15, 2019, Mr. Thomas turned himself in to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit and the United States Marshalls Task Force. Mr. Thomas is held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond.

The alleged homicide took place at 3044 Hidden Forest Court, which is the address of Stadium Village Apartments, a complex advertised as off-campus student housing.

Purpose-built student housing

Off-campus housing, sometimes referred to as purpose-built student housing, is not affiliated with the nearby colleges or universities.

Although the units are marketed to parents and students, the complexes are legally required to rent to non-students.

Cobb County’s Community Development webpage describes the complexes as follows.

Cobb County has recently concluded the 2018 Purpose-Built Student Analysis, which was accepted by the Board of Commissioners at their October 23, 2018 meeting. Purpose-Built Student Housing (PBSH) is a segment of the rental housing market aimed at college students. While PBSH is being built across the country, it is relatively new to Cobb County. In recent years, several PBSH apartment communities have been planned and/or developed, completely by private developers, in the areas surrounding the main campus of Kennesaw State University (KSU). Since 2012, six different PBSH projects have been constructed, both in unincorporated Cobb County and the City of Kennesaw.

After months of input from neighbors of the off-campus student housing complexes about problems associated with them, Cobb County recently enacted zoning codes for purpose-built student housing, and you can read the county’s analysis here.