The suspect arrested on murder charges in the fatal shooting of two people at a University of Colorado Colorado Springs dorm was the roommate of one of the victims, police said.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez on Tuesday morning confirmed to NBC News that suspect Nicholas Jordan, 25, of Detroit, was the roommate of victim Samuel Knopp, a senior at the school.
Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, who was not a student, were found dead Friday morning at the university’s Crestone House residence.
The deaths triggered an hourlong campus lockdown until it was determined there was no active shooter, and were being investigated as homicides.
An arrest warrant was issued for Jordan — a student at the university — late Friday on two counts of first-degree murder. He was located in a vehicle Monday morning and taken into custody in Colorado Springs, police said on social media.
Vasquez said officials were concerned during the search that Jordan could have fled the area.
“We weren’t certain exactly where he was at,” he said in an interview that aired Tuesday on NBC’s “TODAY” show. “So we spent a lot of time, had teams out constantly scouring.”
Police said Monday that the investigation indicates the shooting 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.”
Jordan, due to appear in court Tuesday afternoon, is being held on $1 million bond, according to online booking records.
Knopp was from the town of Parker, about 60 miles north of campus, and was studying music, school officials said.
“He was an accomplished guitar player and an extremely talented musician,” Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said in a statement to the campus community.
Senior Haden Garcia Gillespie said Knopp was his best friend.
“He was probably the most talented guitarist I’ve ever met. And you can tell that that was definitely taken from us way too soon,” he said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “TODAY.”
“I don’t think anyone could ever imagine something like this happening,” he added.
Montgomery was from Pueblo, about 45 miles south of campus, and had studied culinary arts for a semester at Pueblo Community College.
“These deaths, and the ensuing unimaginable pain, are happening much too often in an environment where teaching and learning should be our only concern,” the college said in a statement.
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs was closed over the weekend and classes were canceled Monday for students to participate in a “day of healing.”
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