» By JENELLE GREWELL – [email protected]

The company Campus Crest Communities, Inc., which runs the Grove housing complex, said the incident resulting in the death of Shardae Wright, 23, on Saturday, March 3, in no way reflects upon the safety and security of the student housing community.

“It is important to understand that this event was an isolated incident that occurred between an invited guest and a resident, who apparently knew each other well,” the company said in their statement to The All State through their public relations representative Jason Chudoba.

According to news releases sent out by the Clarksville Police Department, after midnight on Saturday, March 3, police officers responded to a shots fired call at Building Six in the Grove. The news release states when officers arrived on the scene, they encountered several shell casings outside the apartment and bullet holes in the door. “Officers entered the apartment and found a deceased female in the bathtub with gunshot wounds,” the news release said.

“We responded that somebody had been shot and we tried to figure out who did what,” said Jim Knoll, public information officer for the Clarksville Police Department.

The news release states, according to witness accounts, the victim was allegedly seen trying to escape her assumed boyfriend, who was later identified as Nicholas Durant. “Durant pointed a firearm at the victim, at which time an eyewitness ran to get help and then heard several gunshots,” states the news release. According to the news release, Durant allegedly fled from the scene and went to a friend’s house and disclosed he got into a fight with his girlfriend and shot her.

Knoll said the next steps were to call law enforcement along the alleged escape route, to process the crime scene, get a search warrant and collect evidence.

According to the news release, around 10 a.m. on Friday, March 9, Durant was booked in North Carolina when North Carolina Highway Patrol spotted his vehicle. According to the news release, Durant was extradited from North Carolina around 2:45 p.m. and, when booked in Montgomery County Jail, was charged with criminal homicide in conjunction with the death of Wright.

Knoll said police are not disclosing the reason why it happened because the investigation is still ongoing. “There’s this misconception that when somebody’s been charged it’s done,” he said. He said it is not done until the trial.

“While situations like this are outside of our control, we are fully committed to the safety and security of our residents and have numerous security measures in place,” the representative for the Grove said. They said they are deeply saddened about the loss of life. TAS