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Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - An arrest affidavit is revealing new details behind the murder of a Georgia Tech student last week.
Nigel Belser, 21, is accused of shooting and killing 22-year-old Akash Banerjee at an off-campus student housing complex on May 18. His charges include murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
One of Belser’s roommates identified him as a Morehouse College student. He allegedly stalked Banerjee for more than an hour before killing him, according to the arrest affidavit.
Police say video evidence shows Belser leaving his own apartment complex, University House Midtown, and entering Banerjee’s apartment complex, The Connector. At around 4 p.m., he allegedly tailgated behind two residents to get inside the keyfob-locked building.
Belser climbed the stairs to reach the ninth floor, where Banerjee’s apartment was. According to the affidavit, he poked his head outside of the stairwell, walked to the apartment and tried to turn the doorknob.
When that didn’t work, he paced between the door and the stairwell for about an hour and 15 minutes, police said.
Banerjee eventually left the apartment to go to a BP gas station, passing the stairwell where Belser was hidden. Belser then moved to the opposite end of the hall and hid in the other stairwell, police said.
Banerjee came back around 12 minutes later. When he passed by the stairwell, something caught his attention, and he reached out to the door, police said.
Then Banerjee backed up, “as he seems to be startled by his discovery,” the affidavit said. Within seconds, Belser allegedly shot him in the forehead and pistol-whipped him before leaving the building.
Police arrived at the apartment at around 6:50 p.m. Officers said Banerjee was unconscious but still breathing, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was placed on life support before he died.
After identifying the suspect, police secured a search warrant for Belser’s apartment, including a SWAT team. One of the apartment’s occupants said Belser wasn’t there, as he was returning to Maryland.
Belser later turned himself in to Fulton County Jail on Sunday, a week after the shooting.
Police said they believe the shooting was targeted, but have not commented on the circumstances. The investigation is ongoing.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Man charged with murder in Georgia Tech student shooting death
Safety concerns mounting after fatal shooting at off-campus apartment in Midtown
APD: Georgia Tech student killed in ‘targeted act,’ person of interest sought
Man dies after being shot in the head at off-campus Georgia Tech student housing, Atlanta police say
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News Source : https://www.walb.com/2025/05/27/suspect-stalked-georgia-tech-student-over-an-hour-before-murder-affidavit-alleges/
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