GBI Arrests Americus Man for Carrying AR-15 on Georgia Southwestern State University Campus

Americus, GA (April 24, 2025) - The GBI has arrested and charged Khamani Clayton, age 19, of Americus, GA, with Theft by Receiving Stolen Property and Carrying Weapons within a School Safety Zone.

On April 23, 2025, at about 11:25 a.m., the Americus Police Department notified the GBI about a person with a rifle on the Georgia Southwestern State University campus. The Georgia Southwestern State University Police later requested the GBI to take the lead in the investigation. Clayton entered the campus on April 23, 2025, in the early morning hours and was near dormitories with an AR-15. Clayton was later seen leaving campus with the firearm which prompted reports of an active shooter. GBI agents, along with campus police, the Americus Police Department, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Natural Resources responded to the active shooter call and cleared the campus to ensure there was not a threat to students. Local law enforcement took Clayton into custody without incident.

No shots were fired and no students were harmed during this incident.

Clayton was booked into the Sumter County Law Enforcement Center.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Americus at 229-931-2439. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at Submit Tips Online , or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.