Updated at 3:50 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2024.
Two people were found dead in a dorm room early this morning at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus with gunshot wounds, police said.
Police were called early Friday about shots fired from the Alpine Village Apartment complex on campus. The university police department arrived around 6 a.m. and discovered two dead people, “each with at least one gunshot wound,” according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The Colorado Springs Police Department has taken over the investigation and told reporters they are in the very early stages of trying to figure out what happened. Students in the building were initially told to lock their doors, but police said later Friday morning there was no active threat.
“I made my assumptions that it was a shooter,” said Hillary Yeboah, 20, who was near the building when it happened. Yeboah said she was accustomed to active shooter drills in high school in Douglas County. “You never think it’s going to happen to you. It put us on edge for sure. So far, it tells me that you definitely have to keep your guard up.”
Colorado Springs PD said officers are investigating both deaths as homicides and that the incident did not “appear to be a murder-suicide.” But officials didn’t explain why they didn’t believe there was no longer any threat to public safety.
Officers said they are investigating the incident as a homicide but didn’t explain why they didn’t believe there was no longer any threat.
UCCS officials are shuttling students to an off-site location where there is food and counseling available.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said on X that the city stands “with the students and faculty impacted by this morning’s incident.”
“Together we mourn, and together we pray for peace and comfort in this dark time for the family and friends of the deceased,” he said. “We thank the first responders and officers working on this investigation as they seek truth and justice.”
In a press conference Friday afternoon, law enforcement and school officials didn’t release much new information but encouraged students to seek out each other and campus officials for support.
“We are the mountain lion family and we are strong,” said Jennifer Sobanet, chancellor of UCCS, evoking the school’s mascot. “Now is the time to lean on one another, to reach out to one another, to grieve, and to borrow strength from each other. Our community will support one another in this time of tragedy. Know that we will heal, but it will take time.”
Officials declined to take media questions.
On the website for the on-campus apartment complex, the school says students must meet one of the following requirements: be 21, have lived on campus at UCCS for at least one academic year, be a sophomore or above, or be an international student.
The laws of the University of Colorado Board of Regents states that concealed carry is permitted on-campus for those with valid state concealed carry permits. The CU system previously outlawed on-campus concealed carry before the Colorado Supreme Court ruled those bans broke state law.
CU Regent Ken Montera, who represents Colorado Springs, said their first responsibility is “the safety and security of all of our students, staff and faculty. And unfortunately, that didn’t occur today.”
“Although I don’t have any further details as this is an active investigation, I wanted to share and express my concern for those families and know that we will do everything possible to support the investigation and the police to determine the cause of this horrific tragedy,” he said, in a statement.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the CU system's policies on gun permits.
