The man was shot dead during the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections at the Soshanguve campus on Thursday evening.
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said, according to the police, they were called to the scene after a presiding officer was allegedly held hostage and assaulted by students.
The incident happened amid allegations of vote rigging just before voting stations closed.
Dlamini said police officers had driven to the campus in 10 vehicles and were able to rescue the presiding officer.
On their way out, about 200 students had barricaded the entrance of the campus.
Dlamini said the students also stoned the police vehicles.
“The police reported that they fired at the ground with R5 rifles, and that when they left no one was injured, but police vehicles were damaged. The police were later informed that a student had been shot and injured,” Dlamini said.
The student died on the way to hospital.
He said that police firearms were seized on the R80 road for ballistics testing.
The post-mortem will be conducted at the Garankuwa mortuary on Friday.
The campus rector suspended classes for Friday, and the university would help police find out how the man was shot, and also work with the independent voting body to probe the rigging allegations.
The campus would still be accessible.
