According to a public information release from Officer Sydney Melton of the Cobb County Police Department a homicide took place in an off-campus student housing complex on Hidden Forest Court, and two other gunshot victims were found by responding officers.

The address identified in the public information release was 3044 Hidden Forest Court, which is the address of Stadium Village Apartments, a complex advertised as off-campus student housing.

The public information release describes the incident as follows:

On Sunday, October 6, 2019 at approximately 11:40 a.m. Cobb County Police Department uniform officers from Precinct One were dispatched to 3044 Hidden Forest Court in reference to a person shot.

Upon arrival, officers located a male, lying on the ground near the 4000 building, with a gunshot wound to the back. The male was deceased. Officers located two other victims who had gunshot wounds. It was determined that there had been a dispute between neighbors prior to the shooting.

The homicide victim was identified as Oluwafemi Oyerinde, 18, of Lawrenceville. His next-of-kin has been notified.

The other two victims, both 18–year-old males, were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment of their injuries.

The incident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department Crimes Against Persons Unit at 770-499-3945.

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.