In social media posts on March 7, 2016, the department said Beck was about to start about 11 weeks of training in the police academy. The posts say Beck had joined the department the previous summer as a public safety officer, which the posts tout as a good way to start a law enforcement career.
The GBI has said Beck and other officers were responding to a 911 call about 11:17 p.m. Saturday when Beck shot Schultz as the student advanced on officers with a knife and refused commands to put it down. Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Schultz’s parents, said Monday that the GBI confirmed to him that Schultz was holding a multipurpose tool and that the knife blade was not out.