Hunt On For College Student's Killer

$10,000 Reward Offered For Clues To Auburn University Freshman's Shooting, Car Torching

(CBS/AP)  Police have interviewed "persons of interest" but no arrests have been made in the shooting death of an Auburn University female student earlier this week, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Freshman Lauren A. Burk was found fatally shot on a highway just before her car was discovered in flames on campus Tuesday night, several miles away.

Burk, an 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., was found wounded on Alabama Highway 147 around 9 p.m., and Auburn police said her Honda Civic was found engulfed in flames at the campus about 20 minutes later. She died later that night at a hospital.

Gov. Bob Riley's office is offering a $10,000 reward in the case, Stofer said.

"We have not named a suspect and are still investigating leads," Auburn police Capt. Tom Stofer said, adding that officials are remaining tightlipped because of the circumstances of Burk's death, reports the Journal Constitution.

Confusion and shock spread throughout campus quickly Wednesday morning, the Auburn Plainsman reported.

“I want to know what caused it, because obviously she was targeted,” Jeni Young, also a first-year student, told the newspaper.

About 80 students, mostly sorority sisters, gathered early Wednesday evening for a vigil in the parking lot where Burk's car was found. Some were crying and carrying flowers to leave on the spot where her car was discovered. They linked arms and formed a circle, leaning on each other, reports the Birmingham News.

Jay Seyfried, a friend of Burk's from high school, told CBS News affiliate WMAZ-TV in Macon, Ga. that he still can't believe that one of his closest friends is gone.

“She was just one of the biggest sweethearts. Friendly to everyone, outstanding and she loved to laugh,” he said.

An on-campus prayer vigil for Burk was being organized by her friends, and a memorial was being planned by her sorority, Delta Gamma.

"Delta Gammas across the country offer hope and friendship to Lauren's family and all who have been affected by this tragedy," the sorority's national office said in a statement.

An Auburn judicial affairs official told the Atlanta Journal Constitution the university is setting up a memorial service on campus on Monday.

[tool105]

my heartfelt prayers go to her freinds and family.war eagle

[gunownerdan]

All blame should be focused on the murderer so he can be captured and punished.

[jb3boyz]

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Lauren. We hope this person is caught soon and off the streets. Too bad we don''t live by the old saying "an eye for an eye" in this country. Sorry I know that statement will get a lot of comments but I also know a lot of folks out there feel the same way. Bet crime would go DOWN if we treated criminals the same way they treat us!

[antoniof123]

Pretty girls shouldnt go to college...they''''re too much of a temptation for perverts.

Posted by DaVicar2 at 12:16 PM : Mar 06, 2008

I would say some smart remark but this isn''t the time or the place I think just repeating this dumb commet should be enough.

Gunwoner I agree with you.

[aggitta]

I must say that the statement posted by DaVicar2 has to be right up there with some of the most ignorant *** I have ever seen posted anywhere.

[sthrnldy1]

WOW! I thought the last post were stupid! This is pitiful...pretty & white!!????!!! WHAT???!!!! I just don''t even know what to say to that! I am sure she wasn''t getting a free education just because she was a minority or free anything else for that matter. She probably had to work hard to get into college and not given a free ride! I just don''t even know how that could be related to such a sad situation! SICKENING!!!!!!!!! Still praying for you...

[aristoi-2009]

The reason this is a big deal is because this doesn''t happen at Auburn. It is a SAFE campus, so this is very disturbing that this happened. The north side of Auburn is the dangerous side though, by the way.

[nwihoosier]

Peace and Love
NancyNaive, still silly after aaaallll these years!
Peace and Love

[fraiserc]

An outrage beyond words, but we''re so numb that murder itself doesn''t move us much, for very long.

[cowgirl4eve1]

Since when did this become racial? Lauren was a beautiful 18 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her and someone decided to play God and take that away. It''s a sad, sad situation and my heart goes out to all of her family and friends.
What ever happened to compassion and empathy? A precious life was lost and the focus should be directed on finding the person guilty of taking it.

[ptnic]

Nice the race card is immediately thrown up on this horrible sad incident. Mr. downtowner your are pitiful soul making a comment like that. Too bad your so down on your own race. you need help

[clockwork86-2009]

I agree with downtowner97. While this is indeed tragic, ask yourself this. If this person was not:
1) white
2) pretty
3) female
would this be a national media story? I highly doubt it. When was the last time CNN broadcast a story about a murdered male/black/hispanic/unattractive female/etc? I am a 28 y/o white male. Sadly in this society, life is not valued equally from person to person.

[usbrit-2009]

Check out the Memphis Massacre stories yesterday and today. The victims were all African Americans.

[lindsayb44]

How dare any of you... how dare you minimize the severity and sadness of what has happened to this girl. She was someone''s child, someone''s friend and she was way WAY more than her race, *** or physique... she mattered more than you and your disgusting, jaded, hurtful opinions ever, ever will. I''m sorry if the recognition of her brutal death puts you out for any sort of selfish reason, but it doesn''t change the fact that something horrible happened and that it has made the news. Grow up, open up that narrow mind of yours and remember that people who care about her may be reading what you write.

[clockwork86-2009]

I in no way am minimizing the tragedy of what happened. It is absolutely terrible. What I am trying to say is that extremely terrible things happen everyday to all kinds of people and we dont here anything about these people in the national news. Do you deny this fact?

[bobbydee9]

does anybody truly believe that this would have made the national news if this would have been a woman of another race? people feel it necessary to offer all the obligatory "my heart goes out..." & "my thoughts are with..." comments without even taking a moment to ponder whether your heart would be "going out" if this had not been reported or if you merely picked up a crime periodical and learned that people of all races, ages, and education actually get killed everyday in this country. it''s a no brainer. btw- my thoughts are with the family at this time of their loss.

[t_rev123]

clockwork your right, no one values life and you just proved it. you basically said that a white person''s death shouldn''t be brought to the publics attention simply because she is white and pretty. Is that a crime? Although not all whites are unbiased to race, neither are all blacks. It''s time people stop worrying about the color of skin.

[ivymw2002]

Clockwork86 and downtowner97 are correct. Like it or not...what they are saying is a fact with our media. And the 22 year old UNC-Carolina student body president found shot to death will be the next big story on the front pages of national news.

http://www.charlotte.com/109/story/524621.html

Both are very, very tragic events regardless of who the person is. My heart goes out to all those involved. I dont want to take anything away from the evilness of the crimes.

However, a fact is a fact. And its sad to see how much coverage a murder story receives based on who the victim is. Think about....when''s the last time the media placed so much coverage on a victim who was not white, female, and attractive?? Really.... just think about it.

Oh by the way....Im white and female.

[lindsayb44]

The fact that it made the news does not give you the right to minimize it or possibly further hurt those who knew her. That is all I am saying. Follow the second grade rule: if you have nothing nice to say, keep it to yourself.

[t_rev123]

how bout reading this little story then? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/09/national/main3153497.shtml

by the same news you are condoning. Like lindsay said, grow up, stop letting your foolish pride blind you from the real evil.

[clockwork86-2009]

I dont value life? Just pointing out a pure hard fact about our media! You know *** well its true. For all those that knew the victim, my deepest condolences. As a physician in an inner city ER, I see horrible things everyday and most of these things barely make the local news. It upsets me how life seems to be valued so differently depending on the victim. A life is a life and it is precious regardless.

[t_rev123]

ok so you don''t think this story should be published because she''s white? what about all the other white people whose murders aren''t reported on? By following your reason they should be reported on too! but the fact is a news channel can not cover 16400 separate murders in one year.

[christina812]

First of all my thoughts and prayer are with this young lady%u2019s family%u2026once again there is another tragedy for such a young person; however I read some of the comments on here and I am baffled!

Here it is 2008 and people are still pulling the "racial card"??? Give me a break!!! Oh and the famous quote of the day %u201CPretty girls shouldn''t go to college%u201D....oh wait it gets better %u201Cbecause they are too much of a temptation for perverts"............WHO''S SIDE ARE YOU ON?????? Are you saying there is an excuse for bullies to victimize/kill other%u2019s because of their good looks??? My god you have got to be kidding me!!!!

[clockwork86-2009]

exactly! so who do they choose to cover? attractive white females

[christina812]

Society is screwed up and I still cannot fathom how this racial ***/stereotyping is still an issue however I am not surprised because people are still IGNORANT! Some people should take a look at where we are today....if you have any INKLING of what maturity is you would not be forming an opinion on someone being murdered because of their color/looks and where they live. The biggest concern here is a family lost their daughter, their sister etc and the person is still OUT THERE!!!!!!!!

Every race is publicized for something be it crime in the city, pretty white women in college being murdered, immigrants crossing the border, AIDS epidemic in Africa etc etc etc!!!! The media scrutinized each race differently so get over it!! Some races are notorious for different things!

It''s not just "Good looks and Pretty White Girls" that sell in the media, its unfortunately BAD NEWS! People really need to grow up and focus on the matter at hand, NOT the appearance of the innocent victims!!!!!!!

[seraph82]

"If this person was not white"

You don''t realize what you''re actually saying, clockwork. There isn''t enough time in the day to post all of the incessantly repeating crimes in the ghetto - and white people live in the ghetto too. Your racial approach to why this is newsworthy is reverse bigotry in that you have basically said that no one of black, asian, etc. ethnicity live in areas where crime like this actually *IS* newsworthy. This is untrue.

The fact is that nobody would be "shocked" to hear about crime in the ghetto. The news goes for shock value alone - that''s what garners ratings.

Open mouth - insert foot. By trying to paint the media as racist, you''ve only proven your own racial insensitivity.

Just in case you don''t get it - this is newsworthy because it''s a crime in a nice, desirable, affluent area. Not a crime in an area where senseless murder is nothing new.

[lindsayb44]

You and I do not control the media and sad as it may be that every single person who walks into your ER does not walk out and fails to makes the news, it is, like her death a fact of life. I am not saying that you don''t value life. I don''t know you and that is an assumption I would never make. Watch what you say and how you say is all that I am saying.

[bobbydee9]

let me break it down for some of you. these type of stories are reported and directed at the masses of passive mourners out there who feel they''ve made a contribution to society and to mankind by expressing sympathy for a person they visually identify with. the person''s identity here clearly fits the most popular demographic and provides the best outlet for apathetic mourners who remain conveniently unaware of the fact that a less sympathetic looking person of the same age and ambition was killed just last week within 5 miles of the campus. sorry to bust bubbles, but your apathy is not cured by anonymous posting on a website. you haven''t taken a stand on anything. you''re knee did jerk though.

[t_rev123]

and what you said proves my point. you said you see horrible things that happen everyday. the news is to report on things that are abnormal in everyday life. If they reported on "mundane", common recurrences then why would any one watch? they would be watching stuff they already see!

[clockwork86-2009]

if a white guy or obese female or someone else was murdered at Auburn, would it be getting anywhere near the same attention? Maybe, but probably not.

[t_rev123]

no, it would.

[geecee827]

I was beginning to think that the astronomical number of unlicensed guns in this country would never be addressed until white society began to be victimized. We seemed okay with weekend drive-bys, as long as they were restricted to the ghetto. Today we have two white female college coeds shot by some gun nuts because it is just so easy to get this lethal weapon and do all the harm your sick mind wants to do. When will it ever stop?

[cheddarboy82]

regardless of race, an innocent person is dead. Stop bringing up the race *** all the time, whats wrong with some of you ? ALL the victims in the memphis thing were black, I have seen numerous stories on cnn of crimes towards blacks. Stop acting blind to it thinking only pretty white girls get the stories. clockwork86, your right, a life is a life. Start acting like it. Like you said, stuff happpens every day, can''t print them all. I sure recall seeing the jena 6 story every day for a week making them look like the victims. The Black girl a few months ago who was tortured by the trailer trash, I think in virginia. That black girl sure got the story. how does this story even trn into race, geez some of you are just so dumb

[christina812]

For the people that made unnecessary comments.... WHAT WAS YOUR PURPOSE FOR READING THIS ARTICLE IN THE FIRST PLACE ??????????????? To make a judgement on the media and make prejudice "white" comments........?

Some people should really get a life!!!

[cheddarboy82]

yes it would, that lady who got diced up in new york, was she attractive - no.

[t_rev123]

geece if someone is sick enough to murder an innocent girl, a gun law will not stop them from getting the guns... i hate to tell you but the gun was probably procured illegally. and as a matter of fact a law was passed near me stating that all residence were to have guns. The crime rates plummeted. would you want to rob a house where you knew some one was waiting with a gun?

[cheddarboy82]

you think only guns kill ? I bet that lady who got taken out by that meat clever wish she had a gun

[cheddarboy82]

t_rev123 - completely correct

[clockwork86-2009]

My problem is less of a racial issue but mainly the fact that the media decides, based on many factors (physical apppearance being maybe the worst), which indivual humans we should mourn for on a national level. Sadly, many of us just accept this as being completely moral.

[cheddarboy82]

don''t you think they all should get attention, well too bad, they can''t. So read if you want, but this story has nothing to do with race. I m so tired of people bringing up the race card.

[t_rev123]

couldn''t have said it better

[t_rev123]

heres the last thing i''m going to say. Racial diversity is only a problem by those who make it a problem. Yes white people often stereotype black people. But much the same, black people often stereotype white people. I can not say how many times i have turned on a TV and seen a poke at how "nerdy" or "uncool" a white person is. Im fine with this, i don''t mind laughing at my self. People need to learn that they are owed nothing because of their skin color. they are owed what they earn

[gunnerv1]

Did you ant-gun types see what just happened in Israel? Or are Jews still expendable?

[lochlan-2009]

Sounds more like a road rage incident. Hope they have cameras on their highways and are looking to see if anyone was messing with her at the previous camera.

[clockwork86-2009]

try this scenario: A call goes into CNN for a potential news story. A 26 year old hispanic female that attends a university was found murdered in her car. She is obese, comes from a poor family, has bad acne, and not a whole lot of friends. Ya, we''re gonna have to pass on this one. (you people know its true, very superficial but true)

[geecee827]

DaVicar2 - Yes, this ONE incident involves One person, One gun. But it happens again and again, every day. It adds up to MORE than one person and one gun. Where do these murderers get the guns?? From some "legal" gun owner who wasn''t responsible enough to lock up his weapons so they couldn''t be stolen? From a gunshop owner who could give a **** what happens once he makes the sale and the creep walks out the door? Something is not right here. We have to stop the "criminals", "psychos" or whatever you choose to call them from getting their hands on guns. Do you have a better suggestion. Oh, yes, these young ladies should have had their own gun. Right, that would have stopped their murder, that would have stopped their being victimized. Like they walk around town and drive their cars with one hand, while the other hand is holding a gun, "just in case" someone comes up to them and shoots them!! How preposterous is that?

[newskinnebul]

Hello,
I have been reading the comments for a few hours now and I have to say that the ignorance here is perplexing. I have an opinion as many of you do, but I also have a degree in journalism.
So here is your explanation of why this is in the news and everyone else is not (racially).
When you are a journalist or a news corporation you have the obligation to report news in an unbiased manner.

[cheddarboy82]

Actually, alot of crimes wouldn''t be committed if the victim had a gun. Maybe not this time, but alot of times it would. It would be foolish to think it wouldn''t help. Sure doesnt hurt does it. You people really think stricter gun laws help the innocent, LMAO !! get real and use your head. Criminals, killers will always find a way.

[newskinnebul]

The people who choose the stories are where this responsibility lies. We are not talking about the reporters here. The reason that this girl is getting so much coverage is that it concerns the demographic of students and parents. This group is very very large and would be concerned about the shooting''s occurence. It is an unfortunate fact that normal murder cases are only reported on local news channels. When we are talking about network television, you have to understand that the entire nation sees this. The girl was 18, yes, she was white, but that has no bearing on who is the victim. Someone took her life. The only way you can pull a race card here is if these other people commenting start throwing it out there as the murderer being hispanic, black, muslim but definitely not white.

To finish I pose the question that if a black (because that is what the people arguing here are labeling as the other minority, by only suggesting that if a black girl was killed there would be no coverage) person, even if they aren''t attractive, who was attending this college and was murdered and then the authorities found their car burning in a school parking lot, would it go unnoticed?
I can tell you with full sincerity that it still qualifies as newsworthy and would have no problem making it to network or any other widespread media outlet.

[ponco seno]

Chapel Hill Police identified the victim of a shooting Tuesday on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus as 22-year-old senior Eve Marie Carson, the student body president, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.FoxNews.



We need GUN CONTROL.........