Suspect’s ties to Colorado university murder victims revealed
The suspect arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of two people in a dorm room at the University of Colorado Springs has now been identified as one of the victim’s roommates.
Nicholas Jordan, 25, of Detroit, had been sharing a dorm with 24-year-old Samuel Knopp, of Parker, Colorado, police said.
At around 5am on Friday morning, Mr Jordan allegedly shot and killed his roommate as well as 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery, of Pueblo, Colorado, inside the dorm.
The shooting briefly plunged the university into lockdown that day amid fears of an active shooter.
On Monday, officials arrested Mr Jordan after members of a vehicle theft unit found him inside a car. A tactical team later responded to the location and took the student into custody without incident.
He was charged with two felony counts of first-degree murder.
Mr Jordan is now being held in El Paso County Jail on a $5m cash bond, which was increased from $1m during his first court appearance on Monday.
Knopp was a senior studying music at the university while Montgomery was not a student, but worked as a health and wellness copywriter. She was also the mother of two young children.
It’s not clear what Mr Jordan was studying at the university.
Police have not released additional details about the crime and the affidavit in the case is currently sealed. During Monday’s court hearing, a public defender for Mr Jordan said that he had not been given access to the document and requested that it be handed over to his office. Teller County Deputy District Attorney Robert Willett did not oppose the request.
Shannon Gerhart, an El Paso County Judge presiding over the proceedings, said that she’d leave the decision as to whether the document will be unsealed to the public for another hearing scheduled for Friday morning.
Mr Jordan stood next to his public defender in an orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled during proceedings. He only uttered his name when asked to say it for the record.
While the motive remains unclear, officials said from the start of the investigation that they believed the incident was not a random act.
Based on a news release, police responded to reports of shots fired at the university on Friday and found the bodies of Knopp and Montgomery in Crestone House, a dorm building in the university campus’ Alpine Village area.
Both victims had suffered at least one gunshot wound each.
University officials cancelled classes on Monday to honour the victims during a “day of healing”. Last week, another student, Mia Brown, died after she suffered a medical emergency in the university’s recreation centre. She was a senior studying nursing.
In a written statement on the deaths, University Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said: “I know we are all mourning, so please, remember that you are not alone.”
