A shooting at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs (UCCS) on Friday, February 16, 2024, led to the deaths of two individuals.
The Colorado Springs Police Department was notified of gunshots at the Crestone House dormitories around 5:59 a.m.
Upon reaching the scene, officers found an adult man and woman fatally wounded by gunfire. They were later identified by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office as Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, from Pueblo, Colorado, and Samuel Knopp, 24, from Parker, Colorado. Knopp was enrolled at UCCS while Montgomery was not a student.
Despite initial assumptions, the event is being investigated as a double homicide, not a murder-suicide. Police have arrested Nicholas Jordan, a 25-year-old UCCS student from Detroit, Michigan, who they suspect of perpetrating the shootings. He was apprehended on Monday morning after being spotted in a car by law enforcement.
The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) released a statement suggesting that the incident was targeted and involved parties who knew each other, rather than posing a broader threat to the campus or its students.
The university imposed a lockdown and shelter-in-place orders, which were lifted later that day, while classes were cancelled until Monday. A student named Adam Trujillo remarked on the shock of receiving an email from a professor about the lockdown and the surreal sight of police and media presence on campus.
Governor Jared Polis has promised state support and ongoing monitoring of the situation in partnership with university and public safety officials. Additionally, the university has made counseling services accessible to students and staff.
University operations resumed as normal on Monday, and classes recommenced on Tuesday following the Presidents’ Day holiday.
In the aftermath of the tragic event, a healing walk was initiated at 2 p.m. on Monday, February 19th, from the Roaring Fork Dining Hall. UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet, Student Body President Axel Brown, and UCCS Chief of Police Dewayne McCarver all gave brief speeches during this gathering.
Chancellor Sobanet expressed a deep sense of sorrow and loss, acknowledging the emotional impact of the incident on the university community.
This incident has significantly increased the homicide rate in Colorado Springs, doubling last year’s figures. The CSPD is encouraging any witnesses or individuals with information about the incident to come forward to assist with their ongoing investigation.
