Louisiana Murder: Cops hunt for three 8216;black8217; men

Both Indian students had been shot once in the head, according to Charles Zewe, a spokesman for the LSU System.

Sgt Don Kelly of Baton Rouge police department said they were looking for three black men who were seen hurriedly leaving the vicinity of the apartment, where the murders occurred.

8220;The men got into a small to mid-size four-door car, possibly occupied by a fourth person driver,8221; he said, adding the car was seen leaving the complex with its headlights turned out.

The suspects involved in the home invasion, however, have not been identified. Therefore, university officials are urging the LSU community to use caution, when moving around the campus.

The Indian Consulate at Houston established contact with the university to ascertain more details 8220;as soon as we were made aware of this heinous crime,8221; on Friday morning, the mission officials said.

A two-member team was dispatched by the Indian embassy to Louisiana State University to talk to the university authorities, police department and the Indian-American community to render all possible assistance.

The members of the team are Consul K P Pillai from the Consulate General here and First Secretary Alok Pandey from the embassy in Washington.

Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen conveyed 8220;his deepest condolences to the family members of the victims of this tragedy and hopes that the culprits will be caught and due justice meted out to them.8221;

The LSU Police Department is serving as the lead law enforcement agency in a task force that has been put together to probe the incident.

The task force includes the Baton Rouge Police Department, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff8217;s Office and Louisiana State Police, with assistance from the FBI. No new details of the investigation have been released.

In addition, there is a heightened security presence on campus, with law enforcement officials being more visible than usual at the Edward Gay Apartments and other housing units on the northwest portion of the campus. Anyone with any information pertaining to the crime, no matter how big or small, is asked to call LSU Police Department.

The LSU Indian Student Association has announced it is organising a memorial service in the Student Union Ballroom.

LSU Chancellor Sean O8217;Keefe told reporters that both the victims, who were in the US on student visas, were married.

At the request of the victims8217; families, LSU will not release photos of the two graduate students.

The LSU Foundation has established the Komma and Allam Support Fund to assist the students8217; families. Trained social workers and counselors from the LSU Mental Health Service are available for family and friends of the victims and for any members of the LSU community.

The initial call to LSU Police Department came in at 10:37 pm local time as a medical emergency. Officers and medical personnel, who were immediately dispatched to the scene, assessed the situation and notified their supervisors.

Those supervisors then contacted university officials, who rushed to the campus, gathered the latest information and sent out an emergency text message to members of the LSU community who had previously registered their cell phones with the university8217;s emergency text-message system. University officials also sent out a broadcast e-mail to members of the LSU community and voice message to all campus phones and posted a message to the LSU website.

8220;From what we are being told, Komma was bound with a computer cable and shot. The other man was found near the door,8221; Zewe said. 8220;There was no indication of forced entry.8221;

The emergency call was made by Allam8217;s pregnant wife, who returned home and found the men dead.

No other incidents were reported and the campus was not locked down, though officials were cautioning students about travelling to the university and police patrols were increased on campus.

The shootings happened as final exams were nearing completion on the 30,000-student campus and classes were not cancelled. 8220;Finals wrap up Saturday, but many of them are already finished,8221; said LSU spokeswoman Kristine Calongne. 8220;A lot of students have already gone home.8221;

The murders were the first homicides on LSU8217;s campus since the early 1990s, she said.

During the fall 2007 semester, LSU had a total of 1,468 international students, 332 of whom were from India. That 332 represented the largest group of international students from a single country at LSU this fall. LSU8217;s total student enrollment for the fall semester was 28,019.