Not Exactly How to Get on the Map


Except for college football, a refinery or chemical plant explosion, or the odd inflated statewide political ego, Red Stickburg doesn't usually make the national news...ergo I was a little surprised to see a report on CNN and Yahoo News. Unfortunately, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement:

Two students were found shot to death in an apparent home invasion at their Louisiana State University apartment, and officials decided to keep the campus open Friday while police searched for three suspects.

The victims, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, both international Ph.D. students, were found inside an apartment at the Edward Gay complex late Thursday night after authorities received a call seeking medical attention.

Both men had been shot once in the head, said Charles Zewe, an LSU system spokesman. Three men were seen leaving the area, and police were searching for them.

"From what we're being told, Komma was bound with a computer cable and shot," Zewe said. "The other man was found near the door."

The call to 911 was made by Allam's pregnant wife, who returned home and found the men dead, said Srinivasa Pothakamuri, a friend of Komma. Komma, a biochemstry student, was visiting the apartment at the time. Allam was in the chemistry program. Both men were from India, Zewe said.

Sad to say, my first thought was the possibility of redneck rage/all ferriners look alike/let's kill all the moooooslims; however, the location suggests home invasion/robbery. In fact, I didn't even know the complex was still open. I assumed it had been shut down due as it's literally on the border of a massive slum and the fact that LSU has been on quite a building spree of late, constructing large numbers of apartments.

That said, the fact that LSU borders a massive slum is significant: you'd think housing near a college campus would be, oh, a little less depressed, but that's not the case...or at least it hasn't been for a while. Certain areas, like the Bottoms (called because it's on bottom-land bordering the natural levee) have been impoverished for some time, other spots, while never the high life, hit hard times during the 1980s depression down here, and never really recovered.

You know, like with a lot of things, neighborhoods can VERY easily fall apart...but they're not nearly as easily restored. That might be worth considering on a larger level. In the meantime, I certainly hope they catch whoever did this, and I feel terrible for the families who lost loved ones...