Man accused of gunning down Georgia Tech student in targeted shooting has turned himself in
The man accused of shooting and killing a Georgia Tech student last week has turned himself in to police.
Atlanta police said Nigel Belser surrendered himself at the Fulton County Jail on Sunday.
He is accused of killing Akash Banerjee, who was shot in the head on May 18 and died a few days later.
TRENDING STORIES:
Alabama college mourns 3 killed in crash in metro Atlanta
Heavy rain this morning, more storms possible later Memorial Day
Georgia TikTok influencer dead at 19
Investigators said Belser and Banerjee had gotten into an argument at the Connector Apartments on Spring Street prior to the shooting.
Belser has been charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Police are continuing to ask anyone who has information about the shooting to call Atlanta Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'This is a culture': TikTok murder highlights Pakistan's unease with women online
Since seeing thousands of comments justifying the recent murder of a teenage TikTok star in Pakistan, Sunaina Bukhari is considering abandoning her 88,000 followers. "In my family, it wasn't an accepted profession at all, but I'd managed to convince them, and even ended up setting up my own business," she said. Then last week, Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected, police said. News of the murder led to an outpouring of comments under her final post -- her 17th birthday celebration where she blew out the candles on a cake. In between condolence messages, some blamed her for her own death: "You reap what you sow" or "it's deserved, she was tarnishing Islam". Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media, where she shared her favourite cafes, skincare products and traditional shalwar kameez outfits. TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels. On it, women have found both audience and income, rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy. But as TikTok's views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform. Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls "immoral behaviour", amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content. TikTok has pledged to better moderate content and blocked millions of videos that do not meet its community guidelines as well as at the request of Pakistan authorities. After Yousaf's murder, Bukhari, 28, said her family no longer backs her involvement in the industry. "I'm the first influencer in my family, and maybe the last," she told AFP. - 'Fear of being judged' - Only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025. "Friends and family often discourage them from using social media for fear of being judged," said a statement from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF). In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her honour. In October, police in Karachi, in the south, announced the arrest of a man who had killed four women relatives over "indecent" TikTok videos. These murders each revive memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan's Kim Kardashian and one of the country's first breakout social media stars whose videos shot her to fame. After years in the spotlight, she was suffocated by her brother. Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country's Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting men are not uncommon. "This isn't one crazy man, this is a culture," said Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a closed Facebook group of 300,000 women to share advice. "Every woman in Pakistan knows this fear. Whether she's on TikTok or has a private Instagram with 50 followers, men show up. In her DMs. In her comments. On her street," she wrote in a post. In the fifth-most-populous country in the world, where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30,the director of digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, Usama Khilji,says "many women don't post their profile picture, but a flower, an object, very rarely their face". "The misogyny and the patriarchy that is prevalent in this society is reflected on the online spaces," he added. A 22-year-old man was arrested over Yousaf's murder and is due to appear in court next week. At a vigil in the capital last week, around 80 men and women gathered, holding placards that read "no means no". "Social media has given us a voice, but the opposing voices are louder," said Hira, a young woman who joined the gathering. The capital's police chief, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, used a press conference to send a "clear message" to the public. "If our sisters or daughters want to become influencers, professionally or as amateurs, we must encourage them," he said. jma/sbh/ecl/lb
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Written threat' at Lockport High School determined to be non-credible
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Lockport City School District says a 'written threat' that caused students and staff to evacuate on Friday afternoon was determined to be non-credible. No safety concerns were found, the district said. Lockport High School was evacuated shortly before dismissal Friday following a written threat found in one of the classrooms, according to Lockport City School District Superintendent Mathis Calvin III. The threat was written on a piece of paper and found on the floor just after 2 p.m. Staff brought the note to administrators. Both staff and students were evacuated to the Kenan Center down the street out of an abundance of caution. 'The Lockport City School District takes and treats issues such as this very seriously,' Calvin said. 'Every incident is fully investigated and we will follow and use our code of conduct when addressing situations such as this manner.' A full sweep of the school took place, as well as an investigation. Students were sent home and after school activities were canceled for the rest of the day. Calvin says all Lockport schools will reopen on Monday with an increased police presence on-site. The written threat comes just two days after a high school student made a similar non credible threat on TikTok, but Calvin says the two incidents do not seem related. Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Chilean foursome arrested in $3-million Simi Valley jewelry heist. Here's what police recovered
Security footage captured inside a strip mall showed three male suspects casing a Simi Valley jewelry store days before it was burglarized last month for more than $3 million in jewelry and other valuables. The men inspected ceiling access, potential camera angles and sat beside the shared wall separating 5 Star Jewelry & Watch Repair and a candy shop it bordered May 20, authorities allege. One of the suspects even mimicked spray-painting over a security camera, authorities allege. Five days later, the suspects broke into the adjacent sweet shop overnight through the roof, used ladders and ropes to propel down, blacked out surveillance cameras and spent hours boring a hole through a wall and into a 5,000-pound safe to make off with jewelry, bullion, cash and heirlooms belonging to the jewelry store's customers, according to a criminal complaint. That security footage was key in arresting four Chilean nationals with ties to an international theft ring, according to Simi Valley police. The suspects were charged with four felonies, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko announced at a press conference in front of the jewelry and repair shop Friday morning. Manuel Ibarra, 38, Camilo Lara, 32, Sergio Mejia-Machuca, 27, and Heidy Trujillo, 26, were charged with two counts of conspiracy to receive stolen property and two counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary. Read more: Burglars clean out father-son jewelers, snatch heirlooms, 'a lifetime's worth of work' Nasarenko added that the offenses carried additional enhancements since the burglary drew more than $3 million. He added that the defendants could spend between six and nine years in state prison, if found guilty on all counts. All four defendants entered not guilty pleas Thursday and are being held on $100,000 bail. The group is due back in court June 23. A representative from the Ventura County public defender's office was not available to comment on behalf of the accused. Nasarenko thanked Simi Valley police for investigating, arresting and charging the defendants within a short span. 'This happened within three weeks of the date of the alleged offenses, bringing accountability and a measure of justice to the city of Simi Valley and the independent small businesses that make it such a tight-knit and supportive community,' he said. Jewelry store owner Jonathan Youssef described the arrests as 'bittersweet.' Read more: In cinema-style heist, tunneling thieves steal millions in gold, jewels from downtown L.A. store 'It's nice that they're off the streets, but we're not getting much of anything back,' he told The Times. Simi Valley Police Chief Steve Shorts said officers recovered about $600,000 in confirmed stolen property and jewelry, including matches to 5 Star's inventory. He added that more than $20,000 in cash was also recovered. The break-in was reported on Memorial Day. Simi Valley police received a call at 6:33 a.m. from Jonathan and his father, Jacoub Youssef. At the time, Jonathan estimated his store lost between $2 million and $2.5 million in cash and inventory — gold bullion, silver bars, white gold and platinum pieces, multiple high-end watches and center-stone diamond engagement rings. Shorts confirmed that some recovered timepieces were Rolex, TAG Heuer and Omega watches that fit 5 Star's inventory. Most of the stolen inventory consisted of roughly 100 pieces of jewelry from neighborhood clients that were being repaired or restored by the Youssefs. Read more: Long Beach man who bragged about crime on Instagram pleads guilty to $2.6-million jewelry heist Jonathan said he's aware of some of what has been recovered, which includes several loose stones that were 'ripped out of" larger gold jewelry that he believes has already been scrapped. He said the thieves 'were really quick' in unloading the jewelry. 'My father and I are melancholic,' Jonathan said. 'In the end, these criminals are getting a few years of prison time for ruining the lives of so many people and forever damaging so many people. It's a slap on the wrist.' Jonathan said he was thankful for many community fundraisers and online campaigns that have helped recoup a small portion of the losses. Outside the valuables recovered, Shorts said detectives discovered commercial burglary tools and jewelry testing equipment during the arrest of the suspects. He said police also uncovered a firearm taken from a separate pawn shop burglary in Los Angeles in which a wall was similarly breached, but he declined to further discuss other burglaries that the crew may have committed. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
