Details were coming out about the security guard who fatally shot North Carolina Central University student DeAndre Ballard. Sadly, it’s the same narrative we have heard from countless other shootings — the guard said he feared for his life.
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According to The Herald Sun, it was actually two security guards, not one, involved in the shooting on Sept. 17. Recently released search warrants include statements from the security guard who fired the fatal shot. While one guard allowed another to take a bathroom break, he claimed he saw what “appeared to be a man trying to get in a silver sedan.” That man was DeAndre Ballard.
The guard shouted at Ballard, who “walked over and sat in the passenger side of the guard’s car, according to the warrant. An altercation followed, and the guard got out his car.”
The guard alleged Ballard “moved” over to the driver’s side and tried to turn on the car. According to the warrant, Ballard “exited the vehicle and proceeded to put his hands on him immediately making him fear that the male was trying to hurt him.” The guard told police, “This feeling caused (the guard) to draw his gun while asking the male what was wrong with him, and also pled with him.” The guard then shot Ballard in the chest.
The Herald Sun also reported, “The second security guard told police he heard a car door slam as he walked back from the restroom. The second guard said that he heard the first security guard pleading with the man, while appearing to be overpowered for his gun and sounding unusually fearful,’ the warrant states. The second security guard called 911 and said a man was shot after he tried to grab a security guard’s gun. One minute later, the first guard called 911, and said he just shot a man who jumped in his car. ‘He starts trying to fight me and whatever and tried to reach for my gun,’ the guard told 911. ‘That is why I shot him.'”
The family of the 23-year-old has said Ballard was afraid of guns and questioned why he was shot when he was barefoot wearing shorts and a tank top.
The security guard has not been hit with criminal charges and has since returned to work after a brief placement on administrative duty, the Herald Sun reported.
The employer for the security guard, N.C. Detective Agency, defended the shooting.
“We fully, 100 percent stand by his actions because this was self-defense,” the agency said. “In our eyes this is a tragic accident. It never should have gotten to this, but our officer was fearful for his life.”
Ballard’s killing came amid several acts of violence near HBCU campuses. A man was killed Sept. 28 near the campus of Southern Universty in Baton Rouge. One day earlier, a Morehouse College student was carjacked and robbed of his belongings near the school’s campus in Atlanta. Three Florida A&M University students had a gun pulled on them in an elevator at an off-campus apartment building in Tallahassee on Sept. 10.
We hope the family of DeAndre Ballard gets justice.
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