Roommate in custody after student killed in Purdue University dorm

‘We had him very quickly and there was no threat to campus by this individual any further,’ police chief says

A student has been taken into custody after his roommate was found dead in their dorm at Purdue University.

Varun Manish Chheda, 20, was found dead early on Wednesday morning in McCutcheon Hall in a suspected homicide, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello and university police said.

Mr Chheda’s roommate, 22-year-old Gji Min Sha, has since been taken into custody, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Mr Chheda studied data science.

The suspect called 911 at 12.44am local time, a spokesperson for the school said. An autopsy is set to take place later on Wednesday.

Gji Min Sha, nicknamed Jimmy, was a cyber security student.

The Tippecanoe County Jail said at 10am local time that he had not yet been taken to the facility.

Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete told the press that “we had him very quickly and there was no threat to campus by this individual any further”.

She said she can’t yet “discuss” if a weapon was used and she didn’t comment on what could have led to the killing.

“I’m hoping that as soon as we are given the go-ahead and we get more information, our team can help release further information to you for your reports as well,” she told journalists, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier.

The students who lived close to the scene of the crime were taken to stay in other rooms.

The death is the fourth homicide in Tippecanoe County this year, the local paper reported. The last homicide on the campus of the school took place on 14 January 2014 when Cody Cousins killed Andrew Boldt in the building dedicated to Electrical Engineering. Cousins pled guilty and later died by suicide in prison later that same year, the Lafayette Journal & Courier reported.

The president of Purdue University, former Republican Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said in a statement: “This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event”.

Mr Daniels added that “we do not have all the details yet. Our Purdue University Police Department is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident so that we all may learn more about what transpired”.

The university president also noted that counselling is available to those in need.

“As Purdue’s president, but even more so as a parent myself, I assure you that the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus,” he added. “Purdue is an extraordinarily safe place on any given day, and compared with cities of Purdue’s population (approximately 60,000 in all), we experience a tiny fraction of violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere.”

Mr Daniels said that “such statistics are of no consolation on a day like this. A death on our campus and among our Purdue family affects each of us deeply”.

“I am ever grateful to all of you who continually take the time to care for each other and know you will do so in the days ahead,” he concluded.