​Slain Southern Univ. students to get posthumous degrees

BATON ROUGE, La. --The Southern University System has voted at a boardmeeting to award Annette January and Lashuntae Benton posthumous degrees.

Baton Rouge police say the two 19-year-olds were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a shootout at a party outside an off-campus apartment complex on April 10.

January was a freshman from Gary, Indiana, who was also a member of Southern's track and field team. Benton was a sophomore from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and a student athletic trainer.

Autopsies showed Benton was shot once in the head and left arm, while January had a single gunshot wound to her chest.

WAFB-TV reports the board voted Friday to award them the degrees.

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