Student arrested in Colorado university dorm murders

Officials responded to an initial 911 call early on Friday morning

A police officer stands outside a dorm in the Village at Alpine Valley housing, Friday 16 February 2024, as police investigate a shooting on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP) ((Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP))

A student has been arrested over the murders of two people in a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs dormitory on Friday, police announced in a news release.

Nicholas Jordan, 25, of Detroit, Michigan was taken into custody by officials with the Colorado Springs Police Department around 8.37am MST on Monday. He is to be booked into the El Paso County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder.

He’s currently being held in jail on $1m bail. His first court date is on Tuesday at 1.30pm MST.

Jenna Press, a spokesperson for the university, said that Mr Jordan was enrolled at the institution at the time of the shooting.

A warrant was issued for Mr Jordan on the evening of the incident but officials were unable to located him until Monday, when he was found in a vehicle by the city’s motor vehicle theft unit. A tactical team responded to the location and took him into custody without incident.

A booking photo for Mr Jordan will be released once he’s processed into the jail system, police said in a news release.

“Investigative efforts continue to indicate this was an isolated incident between individuals who were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students at the university,” the police department said in a statement.

Based on police information, officials responded to the university around 5am MST on Friday after receiving a call about shots fired in a campus dorm room.

When they arrived, they discovered the bodies of 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery of Pueblo, Colorado and 24-year-old Samuel Knopp of Parker, Colorado in Crestone House, one of the university’s dorm buildings. Both of victims had at least one gunshot wound each.

Mr Knopp was a senior studying music at the university, while Ms Montgomery was a freelance health and wellness copywriter. Officials have not released a manner of death for the pair but said that would be determined by the local coroner’s office.

It remains unclear what the relationship was between Mr Knopp and Ms Montgomery. Police previously said they’d ruled out a murder-suicide in an earlier news release, while stating that they’re investigating the deaths as homicides.

It’s thought that the suspect in connection with the murders might have been known to the victims. The incident forced the institution into a lockdown amid reports of an active shooter. On Monday, the university decided to cancel all classes and moved to hold a day of healing.