Angry Georgia residents interrupted Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz Wednesday morning as he held a news briefing to discuss public safety in the community after the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus last week.
The Democratic mayor delivered remarks Wednesday, nearly a week after an illegal immigrant from Venezuela named Jose Antonio Ibarra allegedly attacked Riley near Lake Herrick and UGA's Intramural Fields.
"The only appropriate number of murders in this community, the number that we are gonna be working our tails off every day for, is zero," Girtz said.
However, protesters interrupted him as he attempted to dismiss "the notion of a sanctuary city."
"You're a liar," a man shouted, repeatedly. "You're the one who is guilty and got blood on your hands for this murder, sir!"
Other protesters gathered quietly in the back of the room, holding signs that read "Blood on your hands" and "Make Athens safe again." Several voices chimed in at times demanding the mayor resign.
GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT CONFIRMED TO BE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
Girtz said Georgia law doesn't allow for sanctuary cities and repeatedly rejected the characterization of Athens as a sanctuary.
"There's been no legislation from this government that’s created sanctuary city status," he said.
A reporter pressed the mayor on the issue anyway – noting that regardless of whether Athens could officially be considered a sanctuary, police found multiple illegal immigrants in Ibarra's Athens apartment.
"We are deeply sorry for this tragedy," Girtz replied. "Responsibility for this crime rests solely upon the perpetrator."
Ibarra's brother, Diego Ibarra, also allegedly handed police a fake green guard when they interviewed him as part of the investigation into Riley's slaying. Authorities acknowledged questioning multiple people in connection with the murder but have only charged one suspect with taking part in the attack.
Both Ibarras had previous run-ins with Athens-Clarke County police, including a September shoplifting case in which they allegedly stole about $200 in goods from the local Walmart.
But they remained free.
"Trauma affects all of us," Girtz said when asked to address the repeated interruptions. "And I understand in the wake of a great tragedy like this, we are all deeply hurt and everybody expresses their hurt differently."
Girtz said the local government is planning to complete a real-time crime center established last year that will feed public, private and UGA surveillance cameras to a law enforcement monitoring facility staffed around the clock. He also touted pay raises for police officers and said the department recently expanded its staffing for the first time in five years.
His comments came a day after UGA announced a $7 million investment in improving on-campus security measures.
Murders in Athens-Clarke County have trended downward for decades, Girtz said, even as the population increases by an average of 1,000 a year. There's still work to be done, however – he said Athens ranks about middle of the pack for other comparably sized SEC college towns.
"Baton Rouge has twice the crime rate," he said. "In a place like Auburn or College Station, it's about 1.5 times less."
Athens is a city of about 125,000, 70 miles east of Atlanta. It is home to the University of Georgia, where Riley had attended for three years, as well as Augusta University's nursing program, in which she was enrolled at the time of her murder. She recently made the dean's list.
The protesters have demanded Athens-Clarke County revoke a 2019 resolution in which the government welcomed "people from all lands and backgrounds," including illegal immigrants.
It was Girtz who signed the resolution on Aug. 20, 2019.
Girtz used criticism of the resolution to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump.
"While 2019 was not that long ago, you might remember the dynamic we were living in, in the late teens in this country where you had the president of the United States speaking in the most vile terms about people who were foreign born," he said. "And you had that notion metastasizing in places like Charlottesville --"
The protesters raised their voices once again, as a woman burst into laughter following the mayor's pivot.
"This is an invasion," a man shouted.
Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.
