Two dead in dorm-room shooting on UCCS campus
Police say investigators do not believe incident was a murder-suicide
Two people were killed in a shooting in a University of Colorado Colorado Springs dorm room early Friday morning, leading to a lockdown and closing the campus through the weekend.
Police have released few details about the shooting that occurred just before 6 a.m., when the campus police department received a call about shots fired in a dorm room on campus, but officials confirmed just before 6 p.m. that Colorado Springs Police Department investigators do not believe the incident is a murder-suicide.
Campus police found the bodies of two people in the dorm room, each with at least one gunshot wound, according to a statement from the police department.
Campus police notified the department of the shooting at 6:10 a.m., and Colorado Springs police took over the investigation at the request of the campus police department.
The deaths are being investigated as homicides.
Colorado Springs police have not said whether investigators have identified any suspects or made any arrests in the case.
“We are in the very early stages of piecing together what happened,” the department said in a statement Friday. “We are in the process of notifying family members of the deceased individuals. We don’t believe there is an ongoing threat to the community and we are investigating this as an isolated incident.”
The El Paso County Coroner will determine the official cause of death and release the names of the victims at a later date.
Officials also have not confirmed whether the two victims were students at the university.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen shared condolences for the families of the two victims.
“… Just know we will be standing alongside them from this point going forward in our search for justice,” Allen said.
UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said the campus community was in shock as they processed the tragic loss of two lives.
“Our hearts are overcome with grief as unspeakable violence has reached into our campus, our home,” she said.
University and police officials did not take questions at the news conference.
Information about the shooting trickled out Friday morning, starting with a 6:21 a.m. campus lockdown notification urging students to “Lock interior doors. Turn out the lights. Move away from sight. Do not open the door. Maintain silence. Evade/defend.”
At 7:10 a.m., the campus issued an alert that there was no active shooter and asked people to continue to shelter in place.
The shelter-in-place was reduced to Alpine Village, a complex that includes six separate dormitory buildings, at 7:59 a.m., and all others were allowed to leave the campus.
“We do not want movement in and around these areas,” campus officials wrote.
Colorado Springs police first posted on social media that police officers were on campus for a death investigation at 8:16 a.m. Friday.
Campus officials notified students there was no safety concern on campus at 8:52 a.m., and the shelter-in-place for Alpine Village was lifted at 9:37 a.m.
The campus was closed Friday following the shooting, and campus officials announced Friday afternoon that UCCS will remain closed through Sunday.
All campus offices are closed, and classes, meetings, events, athletics and activities are canceled through the weekend, the university announced.
Counselors and mental and emotional health support are available to students, faculty and staff, Sobanet said in an email to the campus Friday.
Officers ask anyone with information about the shooting or who witnessed it to call the police department at 719-4447000 or to call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 719634-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous.