Woman shot overnight; the suspect is at large

Boulder police are still seeking a suspect in an overnight shooting near the University of Colorado campus that hospitalized a woman.

Boulder police reported the shooting on Twitter at 10:20 p.m. Monday, initially saying a man was shot near 13th Street and Canyon Boulevard. CU police then sent out an emergency alert a few minutes later, which advised students to avoid the area and described the suspect as a heavy-set white man with dark hair and a large coat.

On Tuesday afternoon, a police news release identified the victim as someone who identifies as female. The victim was sleeping outside when she was shot in the leg when the suspect confronted her.

An officer took her to a hospital in a patrol car after applying a tourniquet, and she is in stable condition. Detectives are still investigating whether the pair knew each other.

In a second alert sent at 11 p.m. Monday, CU police said the suspect was reportedly seen near CU family housing at 17th and Athens streets, further describing the suspect as in his 20s with no facial hair and long brown hair that covered his eyes.

CU police said at 11:56 p.m. that the family housing was cleared and students could resume normal activities. There was an increased police presence near the family housing on Folsom Street.

This is the second shooting to happen near CU in just over a week. Police arrested a man accused of firing off shots in his room at Boulder’s Millennium Harvest House on Feb. 20, an incident that sparked a large active shooter response to the hotel. There were no reported injuries in the shooting.

Additionally, an unfounded call of an active shooter at Boulder High School last Wednesday put a portion of the Boulder campus on lockdown for several hours. That call was part of a statewide suspected “swatting” incident.