A student at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs was arrested on Monday for the shooting deaths of two people in a dormitory at the school. The suspect, Nicholas Jordan, 25, from Detroit, was found in a vehicle and taken into custody by the police on Monday morning. He is set to appear in court on Tuesday.
The police did not explain how they identified Jordan as a suspect but stated that they obtained an arrest warrant for two counts of first-degree murder on Friday. It’s not clear who is representing Jordan legally at this time.
Authorities have not provided a motive for the shooting, which resulted in the deaths of Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, from Pueblo, Colorado, and Samuel Knopp, 24, from Parker, Colorado. Knopp was a student at the university, while Montgomery was not.
The police said they believed the incident involved people who knew each other and was not a random attack on the school or other students. The El Paso County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, and the deaths are being investigated as homicides.
The police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Colorado Springs Police Department as the investigation continues.
The police quickly went to the location.
Campus police got a call right before 6 a.m. on Friday reporting gunshots in a dormitory. They arrived at the dorm at 6:05 a.m. and found two people dead, each with gunshot wounds, said Cronin.
Adam Trujillo, a student who was on campus during the shooting, spoke to Fiba Hub affiliate KKTV. He said, “I was shocked, honestly. I woke up to an email from one of my teachers telling us to lock the doors because there was a lockdown. Then I saw all these police cars and news people outside, and I was pretty shocked.”
The campus was put on lockdown.
Campus police and the Colorado Springs Police Department said the shooting wasn’t an active shooter situation, but it still caused the campus to go into lockdown. Dormitory residents were told to stay inside for several hours.
An alert from campus police at around 7 a.m. said, “Lockdown! Lock interior doors. Turn out the lights. Move away from sight. Do not open the door. Maintain silence. Evade/Defend.”
A few minutes later, university police said there were no reports of an active shooter but advised everyone on campus to stay where they were. By 8 a.m., police said people could leave campus, except those at Alpine Village, a residence hall for sophomore through graduate students.
At 8:52 a.m., campus police said there was no longer a safety concern, but the shelter-in-place order for Alpine Village remained because of an ongoing investigation. The order was lifted completely at 9:36 a.m.
The campus was closed on Saturday and Sunday. Classes were canceled for Monday, but the campus will be open for support and healing, according to the university.