Police arrest 4 Kennesaw State students after Orbeez pellets hit man, truck

Kennesaw police arrested four 18-year-old Kennesaw State University students on felony aggravated assault charges after investigators say they fired Orbeez gel guns from a passing SUV at the West 22 off-campus housing complex during an escalating fraternity rivalry.

The Details

The Brief

Four 18-year-old Kennesaw State University students face felony charges following an Orbeez gel gun shooting at an off-campus student housing complex.

Police arrested the teens after people inside an SUV fired gel pellets at a man, his truck and another group of people at the West 22 complex.

Students said the incident escalated from an ongoing online fraternity rivalry dubbed "The Egg War."

KENNESAW, Ga. — Four 18-year-old Kennesaw State University students are charged with felony aggravated assault after police said they fired Orbeez gel guns at people and a truck at an off-campus housing complex in Kennesaw.

Kennesaw police arrest four teens

What we know

Kennesaw police responded to the West 22 off-campus student housing complex around 1 a.m. last Thursday.

Investigators said the four students who were arrested were inside an SUV and fired several shots from Orbeez guns, hitting a man and his truck multiple times.

The same group also shot Orbeez pellets at another group of people in the complex, who retaliated by throwing eggs at them, according to investigators.

Police tracked down the SUV and arrested the four individuals inside. Kennesaw State University confirmed all four are students.

Kennesaw State fraternity "Egg War"

The backstory

Students told FOX 5 Atlanta the shooting is part of an ongoing battle between fraternities that started online and is dubbed "The Egg War."

The rivalry initially involved groups throwing eggs at each other before escalating to gel guns.

Henri Germaine, a student in a fraternity, said the Interfraternity Council alerted students to put a stop to "The Egg War."

Marcus Campbell, Olumuyiwa Awe, Cole Endriss, and Chandler Buchanan (L-R), all 18 and Kennesaw State University students were arrested on felony aggravated assault charges for allegedly firing Orbeez gel guns from an SUV at people and a truck at the Expand Kennesaw State students react What they're saying:

Students across campus shared mixed reactions to the escalating rivalry and the severity of the felony charges filed against the four teens. Some brushed off the feud as typical Greek life antics.

"I just think it's funny frat drama," said Cassidy Murphy, a Kennesaw State student.

Others living near the off-campus complexes said the back-and-forth pranks have left bystanders worried about getting caught in the crossfire.

"It's bothering me that this is going on. What if I get egged? What if my friends get egged? Eggs hurt!" said Brooks Scarbrough, another student.

Several students also questioned whether firing water-filled gel pellets warrants felony aggravated assault charges.

"It's just Orbeez, I get it can hurt people, but I don't see a felony for this, maybe a misdemeanor," said Isabella Franca, a student.

Germaine, who is involved in Greek life on campus, explained how the rivalry quickly escalated from social media posts to physical confrontations.

"It started with memes and AI images and stuff like that. It was originally eggs. It's mostly eggs, and then the Orbeez came out of nowhere," Germaine said.

He added that he has little sympathy for those facing criminal consequences over the feud.

"Make better choices. If you weren't doing dumb stuff you wouldn't be in the situation you're in now," Germaine added.

What we don't know

University officials have not said which fraternity the four teens are members of.

Kennesaw State University conduct investigation

What's next

Kennesaw State University officials released a statement saying they take allegations of this nature seriously.

The university confirmed it is following established student conduct procedures to investigate the matter and determine the next steps.

The Source

The information in this story was gathered from Kennesaw police investigators, who detailed the arrests and charges, as well as Kennesaw State University officials, who provided a statement, and interviews conducted by FOX 5's Denise Dillon with Kennesaw State students.