A 24-year-old man accused of pistol-whipping an LSU student inside the Business Education Complex on Oct. 7 remains wanted by police, who say the attacker followed his victim from an on-campus apartment before the fight turned bloody. Corey Willis has not been arrested, and investigators are still asking the public for help tracking him down.
According to The Advocate, police said Willis followed the student from his on-campus apartment to the business school, where the confrontation began inside the building. LSU police officers responded to the Business Education Complex at 501 S. Quad Drive at about 3:40 p.m. on Oct. 7, according to the same report. The victim told officers he did not recognize Willis, though he said he had previously seen him harassing women at the Ion, an off-campus apartment complex near campus, per The Reveille.
Gun Pulled, Then Turned Into a Weapon
Police said Willis pulled out a handgun during the altercation, but the victim managed to remove the bullets before Willis wrested the weapon back and used it to beat him, The Advocate reported. Surveillance video reportedly showed Willis picking up a dropped bullet before fleeing the building. A witness told police they heard the fight from elsewhere in the building and then saw the hallway walls and floor covered in blood.
The victim told officers that his aunt had been on a FaceTime call with him and began recording after she realized something was wrong, capturing him being punched, according to The Advocate's report. LSU's student newspaper reported that LSUPD later said the suspect was last seen heading north into campus.
Campus Alert Followed by No-Threat Determination
LSU police sent an emergency alert to students and staff after the incident, warning the community of an alleged assault near the Business Education Complex, The Reveille reported. LSU later said its officers investigated and determined there was no immediate threat to campus at that time, according to WBRZ.
WBRZ separately reported that LSU Police released photographs of a man they said was connected to the incident and asked the public for help identifying him. The Advocate reported that Willis is wanted by Baton Rouge police for aggravated second-degree battery and carrying a firearm on campus.
What the Charges Could Mean
Louisiana law defines second-degree battery as a battery in which the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury, according to a statute published by the Louisiana State Legislature. A separate state statute addresses carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon by a student or nonstudent on school property or at school-sponsored functions, though the provided text of that law does not detail its full penalties or exceptions.
The current status of the case remains unclear. LSU's student newspaper, The Reveille, first published its account of the incident this week, more than three weeks after the Oct. 7 altercation inside the Business Education Complex.
